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GOLD-SEEKING 

ON   THE   DALTON    TRAIL 


BEING  THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TWO 
NEW  ENGLAND  BOYS  IN  ALASKA 
AND  THE  NORTHWEST  TERRITORY 


ARTHUR  R.TTHOMPSON 


KUttsttatrtr 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 
1900 


Copyright,  1900, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


UNIVERSITY    PRESS    •     JOHN   WILSON 
AND     SON      •      CAMBRIDGE,    U.S.A. 


f  Bancrof t  Library 
4 


TO 

of  jUflang 

DEXTER   WADLEIGH   LEWIS 


PREFACE 

A10NG  my  first  passions  was  that  for  exploration. 
The  Unknown  —  that  region  of  mysteries  lying 
upon  the  outskirts  of  commonplace  environment  — 
drew  me  with  a  mighty  attraction.  My  earliest  recollec 
tions  are  of  wanderings  into  the  domains  of  the  neighbors, 
and  of  excursions  —  not  infrequently  in  direct  contraven 
tion  to  parental  warnings  —  over  fences,  stone-walls,  and 
roofs,  and  into  cobwebbed  attics,  fragrant  hay-lofts,  and 
swaying  tree-tops.  Of  my  favorite  tree,  a  sugar  maple,  I 
remember  that,  so  thoroughly  did  I  come  to  know  every 
one  of  its  branches,  I  could  climb  up  or  down  unhesitatingly 
with  eyes  shut.  At  that  advanced  stage  of  acquaintance, 
however,  it  followed  naturally  that  the  mysteriousness,  and 
hence  the  subtle  attractiveness,  of  my  friend  the  maple  was 
considerably  lessened. 

By  degrees  the  boundary  line  of  the  unknown  was 
pushed  back  into  surrounding  fields.  Wonderful  caves 
were  hollowed  in  sandy  banks.  Small  pools,  to  the  im 
aginative  eyes  of  the  six-year-old,  became  lakes  abounding 
with  delightful  adventures.  The  wintry  alternations  of 
freezing  and  thawing  were  processes  to  be  observed  with 
closest  attention  and  never -failing  interest.  Nature  dis 
played  some  new  charm  with  every  mood. 


viii  PREFACE 

There  came  a  day  when  I  looked  beyond  the  fields,  when 
even  the  river,  sluggish  and  muddy  in  summer,  a  broad, 
clear  torrent  in  spring,  was  known  from  end  to  end.  Then 
it  was  that  the  range  of  low  mountains  —  to  me  sublime 
in  loftiness  —  at  the  western  horizon  held  my  fascinated 
gaze.  To  journey  thither  on  foot  became  ambition's  end 
and  aim.  This  feat,  at  first  regarded  as  undoubtedly  be 
yond  the  powers  of  man  unaided  by  horse  and  carry-all 
(the  thing  had  once  been  done  in  that  manner  on  the 
occasion  of  a  picnic),  was  at  length  proved  possible. 

What  next?  Like  Alexander,  I  sought  new  worlds. 
Nothing  less  than  real  camping  out  could  satisfy  that 
hitherto  unappeasable  longing.  This  dream  was  realized 
in  due  season  among  the  mountains  of  New  Hampshire; 
but  the  craving,  far  from  losing  its  keenness,  was  whetted. 
Of  late  it  has  been  fed,  but  never  satiated,  by  wider  rov- 
ings  on  land  and  sea.  Perhaps  it  is  in  the  blood  and  can 
never  be  eliminated. 

Believing  that  this  restlessness,  accompanied  by  the  love 
of  adventure  and  out-of-door  life,  is  natural  to  every  boy, 
I  have  had  in  mind  particularly  in  the  writing  of  this 
narrative  those  thousands  of  boys  in  our  cities  who  are 
bound  within  a  restricted,  and  it  may  be  unromantic, 
sphere  of  activity.  To  them  I  have  wished  to  give  a 
glimpse  of  trail  life,  not  with  a  view  to  increasing  their 
restlessness,  — for  I  have  not  veiled  discomforts  and  dis 
couragements  in  relating  enjoyments,  — but  to  enlarge 
their  horizon, —  to  give  them,  in  imagination  at  least, 
mountain  air  and  appetites,  journeys  by  lake  and  river, 


PREFACE  ix 

and  an  acquaintance  with  men  and  conditions  as  they  now 
exist  in  the  great  Northwest. 

The  Dalton  trail,  last  year  but  little  known,  may  soon 
become  a  much  travelled  highway.  With  a  United  States 
garrison  at  Pyramid,  and  the  village  of  Klukwan  a  bone 
of  contention  between  the  governments  of  this  country  and 
Canada,  the  region  which  it  traverses  is  coming  more  and 
more  into  notice.  I  would  only  add  that  natural  features, 
scenery,  and  people,  have  been  described  faithfully,  how 
ever  inadequately,  and  the  story  throughout  is  based  upon 
real  happenings.  Should  any  of  my  young  readers  pass 
over  the  trail  to-day  in  the  footsteps  of  David  and  Roly, 
they  would  find,  save  for  possible  vandalism  of  Indians  or 
whites,  the  cabins  on  the  North  Alsek  and  in  the  Kah  Sha 
gorge  just  as  they  are  pictured,  and  they  could  be  sure  of 
a  welcome  from  Lucky,  Long  Peter,  and  Coffee  Jack. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    A  LETTER  FROM  ALASKA 1 

II.    BUYING  AN  OUTFIT 7 

III.  FROM  SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID  HARBOR 18 

IV.  THE  FIRST  CAMP 28 

V.    THE  GREAT  NUGGET,  AND  HOW  UNCLE  WILL  HEARD 

OF  IT 38 

VI.    ROLY  is  HURT 47 

VII.    CAMP  AT  THE  CAVE 54 

VIII.    SLEDDING 60 

IX.    KLUKWAN  AND  THE  FORDS 69 

X.      A   PORCUPINE-HUNT   AT   PLEASANT    CAMP     ....  77 

XI.     THE  MYSTERIOUS  THIRTY-SIX 88 

XII.    THE  SUMMIT  OF  CHILKAT  PASS 101 

XIII.  •  DALTON'S  POST 112 

XIV.  FROM  THE  STIK  VILLAGE  TO  LAKE  DASAR-DEE-ASH  120 
XV.    STAKING  CLAIMS 127 

XVI.    A  CONFLAGRATION 135 

XVII.    THROUGH  THE  ICE 142 

XVIII.    BUILDING  THE  CABIN    .     ...-.    ........  149 

XIX.    THE  FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE       157 

XX.    HOLY  GOES  DUCK-HUNTING 166 

XXI.    LAST  DAYS  AT  PENNOCK'S  POST    . 175 

XXII.    A  HARD  JOURNEY    .                                             ...  182 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIII.  THE  LAKE  AFFORDS  Two  MEALS  AND  A  PERILOUS 

CROSSING 192 

XXIV.  DAVID  GETS  HIS  BEAR-SKIN 201 

XXV.    MORAN'S  CAMP 210 

XXVI.  How  THE  GREAT  NUGGET   NEARLY    COST    THE 

BRADFORDS  DEAR     . 216 

XXVII.    AN  INDIAN  CREMATION 223 

XX VIII.    THE  PLAGUE  OF  MOSQUITOES 231 

XXIX.    LOST  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 238 

XXX.  WASHING  OUT  THE  GOLD     ........  248 

XXXI.    DAVID  MAKES  A  BOAT-JOURNEY        256 

XXXII.    CHAMPLAIN'S  LANDING 264 

XXXIII.  ALONE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 272 

XXXIV.  RAIDED  BY  A  WOLF 279 

XXXV.  A  LONG  MARCH,  WITH  A  SURPRISE  AT  THE  END 

OF  IT 289 

XXXVI.  How    DAVID    MET    THE    OFFENDER     AND    WAS 

PREVENTED  FROM  SPEAKING  HIS  MIND       .     .  297 

XXXVII.    HOMEWARD  BOUND 306 

XXXVIII.  A  CARIBOU,  AND  How  IT  WAS  KILLED      .     .     .  314 

XXXIX.    DANGERS  OF  THE  SUMMER  FORDS 321 

XL.    SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN 331 

XLI.    THE  ROBBERS  AT  LAST 339 

XLII.  PYRAMID,  SKAGWAY,  AND  DYEA.  —  CONCLUSION  348 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 
SLEDDING  UP  THE  CHILKAT  VALLEY Frontispiece 

PYRAMID  HARBOR,  PYRAMID  MOUNTAIN  IN  THE  DISTANCE  .  26 

MAP  OF  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 28 

A  CURIOUS  PHENOMENON  BESIDE  THE  TRAIL 89 

THE  CAMP  OF  THE  MYSTERIOUS  THIRTY-SIX 93 

"PRESENTLY     SOME     LITTLE    YELLOW    SPECKS    WERE     UN 
COVERED" 131 

CHILDREN  OF  THE  WILDERNESS 192 

RAFTING  DOWN  THE  NORTH  ALSEK 265 

A  HERD  OF  CATTLE. — YUKON  DIVIDE  IN  THE  DISTANCE     .  267 

FORDING  THE  KLAHEENA 325 

"SALMON  BY  THE  THOUSAND"  .                          .....  349 


GOLD-SEEKING 

ON 

THE    DALTON    TKAIL 


CHAPTER  I 

A  LETTER   FROM  ALASKA 

IN  a  large,  old-fashioned  dwelling  which  overlooked 
from  its   hillside  perch   a   beautiful   city  of   Con 
necticut,  the  Bradford   family  was   assembled   for 
the    evening    meal.     It    was    early  in  February,  and  the 
wind,    which    now    and    then    whirled    the    snowflakes 
against  the  window-panes,   made   the  pretty  dining-room 
seem  doubly  cozy.     But  Mrs.  Bradford  shivered   as  she 
poured   the    tea. 

"Just  think  of  poor  Will,"  she  said,  "away  off  in 
that  frozen  wilderness !  Oh,  if  we  could  only  know 
that  he  is  safe  and  well ! "  and  the  gentle  lady's  brown 
eyes  sought  her  husband's  face  as  if  for  reassurance. 

Mr.  Bradford  was  a  tall,  strongly  built  man  of  forty- 
five,  with  light-brown  hair  and  mustache,  and  features 
that  betrayed  much  care  and  responsibility.  Upon  him 


2         GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

as  treasurer  had  fallen  a  great  share  of  the  burden  of 
bringing  a  large  manufacturing  establishment  through 
two  years  of  financial  depression,  and  his  admirable 
constitution  had  weakened  under  the  strain.  But  now 
a  twinkle  came  into  his  gray  eyes  as  he  said,  "My 
dear,  I  hardly  think  Will  is  suffering.  At  least  he 
was  n't  a  month  ago." 

"  Why,  how  do  you  know  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Bradford. 
"Has  he  written  at  last?" 

For  answer  Mr.  Bradford  drew  from  the  depths  of 
an  inside  pocket  a  number  of  letters,  from  which  he 
selected  one  whose  envelope  was  torn  and  travel- 
stained.  It  bore  a  Canadian  and  an  American  postage 
stamp,  as  if  the  sender  had  been  uncertain  in  which 
country  it  would  be  mailed,  and  wished  to  prepare  it 
against  either  contingency. 

At  sight  of  the  foreign  stamp  Ralph,  —  or  "Roly," 
as  he  had  been  known  ever  since  a  certain  playmate 
had  called  him  "Roly-poly"  because  of  his  plumpness, 
—  aged  fifteen,  was  awake  in  an  instant.  Up  to  that 
moment  his  energies  had  been  entirely  absorbed  in  the 
laudable  business  of  dulling  a  very  keen  appetite,  but 
it  quickly  became  evident  that  his  instincts  as  a  stamp 
collector  were  even  keener.  He  had  paused  in  the  act 
of  raising  a  bit  of  bread  to  his  mouth,  and  made  such 
a  comical  figure  with  his  lips  expectantly  wide  apart 
that  his  younger  sister  Helen,  a  little  maid  of  nine, 


A   LETTER  FROM  ALASKA  3 

was  betrayed  into  a  sudden  and  violent  fit  of  laughter, 
in  which,  in  spite  of  the  superior  dignity  of  eighteen 
years,  their  brother  David  was  compelled  to  join. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "  I  received  a  letter  from 
Will  this  afternoon.  Suppose  I  read  it  aloud."  Abso 
lute  quiet  being  magically  restored,  he  proceeded  as 
follows :  — 

RAINY  HOLLOW,  CHILKAT  PASS,  Jan.  9,  1898. 

DEAR  BROTHER  CHARLES,  —  I  am  storm-bound  at  this 
place,  and  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  cross  the  summit, 
so  what  better  can  I  do  than  write  the  letter  so  long 
deferred  ? 

I  have  been  as  far  west  as  the  Cook  Inlet  region,  and  have 
acquired  some  good  coal  properties.  While  there  I  heard 
from  excellent  authorities  that  rich  gold  placers  have  been 
discovered  on  the  Dalton  trail,  which  leads  from  Pyramid 
Harbor  to  Dawson  City,  at  a  point  about  two  hundred  miles 
inland.  I  thought  it  best  to  investigate  the  truth  of  this 
rumor,  and  am  now  on  the  way  to  the  designated  locality, 
with  an  Indian  guide  and  dog-team. 

Now,  as  you  know,  I  was  able  to  take  claims  for  you  as 
well  as  for  myself  in  the  Cook  Inlet  country,  by  the  powers 
of  attorney  which  you  sent  me,  but  in  the  Canadian  territory 
to  which  I  am  going  the  law  does  not  allow  this,  and  you 
can  only  secure  a  claim  by  purchase,  or  by  being  here  in 
person  to  take  it  up. 

I  don't  suppose  you  are  in  a  position  to  buy  claims ;  but 
it  struck  me,  Charles,  that  it  would  be  a  grand  good  thing 
if  you  could  leave  that  work  of  yours  awhile  and  rough  it  in 
these  mountains.  You  looked  worn  out  when  I  saw  you 
last,  and  you  need  a  change.  This  is  a  rugged  country,  but 


4         GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

a  healthful  one  if  a  man  takes  care  of  himself,  and  nothing 
would  do  you  more  good  than  to  take  my  advice  and  come. 
Why  not  bring  the  boys  along?  Too  much  schooling  isn't 
good  for  growing  lads,  and  they  will  lose  nothing  in  the 
long  run. 

Come  prepared  to  stay  six  months.  I  will  write  our 
friend  Kingsley  at  Seattle  in  regard  to  your  outfit,  and  will 
send  him  directions  for  the  journey.  Start  at  once,  for  I 
think  there  '11  be  a  rush  in  this  direction  very  soon. 

You'll  be  surprised  to  find  how  comfortable  you  can  be 
in  your  tent  on  the  snow,  even  with  the  mercury  below  zero. 
Trust  the  directions  I  shall  send  to  Kingsley,  and  I  '11  guar 
antee  you  against  the  suffering  you  read  of,  most  of  which 
is  the  result  of  ignorance  and  carelessness. 

I  send  this  letter  out  by  an  Indian  who  leaves  here  to 
morrow. 

With  love  to  you  all,  I  am, 

Your  brother, 

WILLIAM  C.  BRADFORD. 

"  Uncle  Will 's  a  brick !  "  exclaimed  Holy,  promptly. 
"Of  course  we  shall  go."  Whereupon  Helen  burst 
into  tears  because  she  was  not  a  boy.  David  managed 
to  preserve  outward  calmness,  but  his  eyes  sparkled  as 
he  thought  of  the  wonders  he  might  soon  see.  As  for 
Mrs.  Bradford,  she  scarcely  knew  whether  to  be  sad  or 
glad.  She  was  willing  to  believe  her  enthusiastic 
brother-in-law  would  not  urge  his  own  relatives  to 
face  unreasonable  dangers.  But  to  think  of  being  sepa 
rated  from  them  half  a  year!  After  all,  she  could  do 
no  better  than  leave  the  matter  to  her  husband. 


A  LETTER  FROM  ALASKA  5 

"Well,  Charles,"  she  said  quite  calmly,  "what  do 
you  propose  to  do?" 

David  and  Roly  trembled  in  their  seats,  while  Mr. 
Bradford  regarded  them  thoughtfully. 

"  I  am  inclined,"  he  said  at  last,  "  to  think  favorably 
of  Will's  proposal,  so  far  as  it  concerns  myself." 

At  the  word  "favorably"  both  boys  jumped,  but 
when  they  heard  the  last  of  the  sentence  they  looked 
very  wretched  and  crestfallen.  They  did  not  under 
stand  the  whole  of  Uncle  Will's  letter,  but  there  was 
absolutely  no  doubt  that  he  had  suggested  their  coming. 
David  ventured  to  remind  his  father  that  they  were 
both  a  year  in  advance  of  most  boys  of  their  age  in 
their  school-work. 

This  argument  appeared  to  have  weight  with  Mr. 
Bradford.  He  reflected,  too,  on  the  many  youthful  ad 
ventures  of  his  own  in  the  Adirondack  woods,  which  he 
had  often  narrated  in  their  hearing.  It  was  but  natural 
that  they  should  wish  to  go.  He  was  bound  to  admit 
that  they  had  studied  carefully  and  well,  and  had  fairly 
earned  an  outing.  David,  dark-haired  and  brown-eyed 
like  his  mother,  had  reached  the  age  of  rapid  growth. 
He  was  shooting  up  like  a  weed,  and  his  face  was 
paler  than  it  should  be.  Roly  was  of  light  complex 
ion,  and  round  and  ruddy.  Nothing  more  could  be 
desired  of  him  in  the  matter  of  health,  yet  his  father 
knew  how  keenly  he  would  feel  the  disappointment  if 


6         GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

his  brother  were  permitted  to  go  and  he  were  left 
behind. 

Mr.  Bradford  looked  inquiringly  at  his  wife.  "Can 
you  spare  them?"  he  asked. 

It  was  a  hard  question.  Mrs.  Bradford  would  have 
preferred  to  keep  the  boys  at  home,  but  she  had  trav 
elled  extensively  before  her  marriage,  and  knew  the 
value  of  travel.  She  was  ambitious  for  her  sons  and 
wished  them  to  have  every  advantage.  But  it  was  not 
without  a  flood  of  affectionate  tears  that  she  consented 
at  last  to  let  them  go. 

The  matter  being  thus  decided,  at  a  sitting,  as  it 
were,  the  evening  was  spent  in  a  study  of  maps  and 
guide-books;  and  long  after  they  went  to  bed  the 
boys  lay  awake  and  talked  over  their  good  fortune. 


BUYING  AN   OUTFIT 


CHAPTER  II 

BUYING  AN   OUTFIT 

IN  spite  of  his  brother's  injunction  to  hurry,  Mr.  Brad 
ford  was  unable  to  complete  his  arrangements  until 
the  first  of  March. 

Mrs.  Bradford's  heart  sank  as  she  said  "Good-by" 
to  the  three,  and  watched  the  train  roll  away  in  the 
distance.  Helen,  too,  was  quite  awed  by  the  solemnity 
of  the  occasion,  but  was  comforted  by  the  thought  that 
her  Aunt  Charlotte  was  coming  in  the  absence  of  the 
rest  of  the  family. 

As  for  the  boys,  their  spirits  rose  quickly  after  the 
sad  moments  of  parting,  it  being  the  pleasant  privilege 
of  youth  to  see  only  bright  skies  ahead,  and  to  leave 
responsibility  to  wiser  brains.  Neither  David  nor  Roly 
had  been  beyond  New  York,  and  the  next  few  days 
were  filled  with  novel  sights  and  experiences. 

How  strange  it  seemed  to  sit  down  to  one  of  the 
little  tables  in  the  dining-car,  with  its  white  spread  and 
dainty  dishes,  and  calmly  make  a  meal  while  being 
whirled  through  the  country  at  sixty  miles  an  hour! 

But  that  was  nothing  to  the  sensation  of  lying  in  bed 
in  a  long,  dimly  lighted  sleeping-car  which  seemed  to 


8         GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

be  flying  through  space.  What  a  delicious  sense  of 
motion!  What  power  and  speed  the  swaying  on  the 
curves  betrayed!  Now  they  hear  the  hollow  roar  of  a 
bridge,  then  presently  the  deadened  sound  of  the  firm 
ground  again;  and  they  know  they  are  passing  through 
a  village  when  they  recognize  the  clattering  echoes  from 
freight-cars  on  a  siding.  And  now  the  electric  lights 
of  a  large  town  gleam  through  the  windows,  and  the 
train  slows  down  and  stops.  There  is  a  babel  of  voices, 
the  rumble  of  a  truck  along  the  platform,  the  clink  of  a 
hammer  against  the  car-wheels,  and  at  last  the  distant 
"  All  aboard ! "  and  they  are  off  again. 

It  was  a  long,  long  journey,  and  the  boys  realized  as 
never  before  the  length  and  resources  of  their  country. 
They  crossed  the  snowy  prairies  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi 
nois,  made  a  flying  change  of  cars  at  Chicago,  passed 
through  Wisconsin  in  a  night,  and  found  themselves  at 
St.  Paul  on  the  Mississippi,  where,  in  the  course  of  their 
rambles  about  the  city,  David  petitioned  for  a  camera,  — 
a  petition  which  Mr.  Bradford  willingly  granted. 

They  crossed  Minnesota  that  night,  and  North  Dakota 
with  its  prairies  and  Bad  Lands  the  next  day. 

At  Mandan  the  boys  discovered  near  the  station  a  taxi 
dermist's  shop  in  which  were  finely  mounted  heads  of 
moose,  antelope,  and  buffalo,  —  the  latter  worth  two  hun 
dred  dollars  apiece.  Stuffed  but  very  lifelike  foxes 
looked  craftily  out  from  every  corner,  and  gorgeous  birds 


BUYING  AN   OUTFIT  9 

of  various  species  were  perched  all  about.  There  were 
wonderful  Indian  relics,  too,  —  bows  and  arrows,  head 
dresses  of  feathers,  brightly  beaded  moccasins,  and  great 
clubs  of  stone  with  wooden  handles. 

Through  Montana  and  Idaho  the  surface  of  the  country 
was  diversified  by  the  spurs  and  peaks  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  while  in  Washington  they  passed  alternately 
through  fertile  tracts  dotted  with  ranches,  and  barren, 
sandy  plains  where  only  the  gray  sage-bushes  thrived. 

As  in  the  Rockies,  two  engines  were  required  to  draw 
the  heavy  train  up  the  slopes  of  the  Cascade  Range. 
Through  a  whole  afternoon  the  scenery  was  of  the  most 
beautiful  description.  They  wound  about  the  forest- 
covered  heights,  now  through  a  dark  tunnel  or  a  snow- 
shed,  now  along  the  edge  of  a  precipice  from  which  they 
could  see  the  winding  valley  far  below  and  the  snow- 
crowned  peaks  beyond.  The  change  from  the  sandy 
barrens  to  the  deep  snows  and  rich  forests  of  the  moun 
tains  was  as  refreshing  as  it  was  sudden.  Darkness  was 
falling  over  the  landscape  when  the  highest  point  of  the 
pass  was  gained.  The  laborious  puffing  and  panting  of 
the  engines  ceased,  and  the  train  ran  swiftly  down  the 
grades  by  the  simple  force  of  gravitation.  Late  that 
evening,  after  a  brief  stop  at  Tacoma,  they  rumbled  into 
Seattle,  —  six  days  from  New  York. 

Mr.  Kingsley,  who  had  been  notified  by  telegraph  of  the 
time  of  arrival,  awaited  the  Bradfords  on  the  platform. 


10       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

He  shook  Mr.  Bradford's  hand  warmly.  They  had  been 
chums  in  their  boyhood  days,  and  many  years  had  passed 
since  they  had  seen  each  other.  The  boys  were  then  in 
troduced,  and  he  greeted  them  cordially.  He  insisted  that 
they  should  stay  at  his  home  while  they  were  in  the  city, 
and  led  the  way  to  a  carriage,  first  cautioning  Mr.  Brad 
ford  against  pickpockets,  of  whom  there  were  many  in 
town  at  that  time. 

They  were  driven  rapidly  through  lighted  business 
streets,  then  up  several  steep  hills,  and  presently  the  car 
riage  stopped  before  a  pleasant  house,  surrounded  by  a 
wide  lawn  with  shrubs  and  shade  trees,  some  of  which 
were  putting  forth  green  buds.  Here  Mrs. '  Kingsley 
and  her  daughter  Flora,  aged  fifteen,  received  the 
travellers. 

David  was  awakened  from  a  most  refreshing  slumber 
next  morning  by  the  songs  of  birds  outside  his  window. 
He  roused  Roly,  and  together  they  jumped  up  and  looked 
out.  Below  them  to  the  west  lay  the  city,  and  beyond  it 
sparkled  the  waters  of  Puget  Sound.  Beyond  the  Sound 
towered  a  range  of  majestic  snowy  peaks  which,  they 
afterward  learned,  were  the  Olympic  Mountains.  Turn 
ing  to  the  south  window,  they  saw  in  the  southeast  the 
graceful  form  of  Mount  Rainier  looming  over  fourteen 
thousand  feet  into  the  clouds.  It  was  a  glorious  morning, 
bright  and  balmy. 

At  the  breakfast  table  Mr.   Kingsley  said  he  had  re- 


BUYING  AN   OUTFIT  11 

ceived  full  directions  regarding  their  needs  on  the  trail, 
together  with  a  rough  map  of  the  country  through  which 
they  were  to  travel.  He  was  a  jolly,  red-faced  man,  and 
the  boys  were  soriy  he  was  not  going  to  accompany  them. 
He  declared,  however,  when  Mr.  Bradford  suggested  it, 
that  he  was  too  stout  to  walk  so  far,  and  would  n't  be 
hired  to  go  until  he  could  ride  in  a  railroad-car. 

The  entire  day  was  devoted  to  the  purchase  of  the  out 
fit.  As  soon  as  breakfast  was  over,  Mr.  Bradford  and  the 
boys,  in  company  with  Mr.  Kingsley,  boarded  a  cable-car, 
which  soon  carried  them  down  a  hill  so  steep  that  it  was 
only  with  great  difficulty  that  the  passengers,  especially 
those  unaccustomed  to  the  performance,  kept  themselves 
from  sliding  in  a  heap  to  the  front  of  the  car.  Roly 
thought  the  sensation  a  good  deal  like  tobogganing,  ex 
cept  that  they  did  not  go  so  fast. 

There  was  a  liveliness  and  stir  in  the  crowds  which 
thronged  the  business  streets,  betokening  the  excitement 
due  to  the  recent  gold  discoveries.  Hundreds  of  roughly 
dressed  men  crowded  into  the  outfitting  establishments. 
Many  of  them  were  picturesque  in  yellow  Mackinaw 
coats,  broad-brimmed  felt  hats,  and  knee  boots.  They 
came  from  every  State  in  the  Union,  but  all  had  a  common 
purpose,  and  seemed  for  the  most  part  strong,  brave,  good- 
tempered  fellows,  ready  to  laugh  at  hardships  and  able 
to  overcome  all  sorts  of  difficulties. 

Entering   one  of    the    large    stores    recommended  by 


12       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

Mr.  Kingsley,  Mr.  Bradford  opened  negotiations  for  the 
necessary  clothing,  aided  by  the  list  which  his  brother  had 
prepared.  Suits  of  heavy  black  Mackinaw  were  selected, 
and  as  time  was  precious  and  fit  not  important,  Mr.  Brad 
ford  and  David  were  provided  for  from  the  ready-made 
stock.  Holy  was  just  too  small  for  the  smallest  suit  in 
the  store,  but  the  proprietor  promised  to  make  him  a  suit 
of  the  right  material  and  have  it  ready  in  two  days. 
Stout  canvas  coats  and  blue  overalls  were  then  selected, 
and  underwear  both  heavy  and  light.  Blue  flannel  shirts, 
rubber  gloves  for  the  work  of  panning,  heavy  woollen 
caps,  stockings  and  mittens,  stout  shoes,  and  broad- 
brimmed  felt  hats  were  added.  Then  came  rubber  boots 
reaching  to  the  hips,  and  rubber  "packs"  for  use  with 
the  snow-shoes.  Creepers,  consisting  of  leather  soles 
studded  with  sharp  spikes,  for  travel  over  ice,  completed 
the  list  of  footwear. 

Owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  it  was  considered 
best  to  take  no  furs,  and  very  thick  blankets  and  down 
quilts  were  substituted  for  sleeping-bags.  Two  small 
mosquito-proof  tents  and  one  larger  tent  were  next 
secured. 

The  morning's  work  was  completed  by  the  selection  of 
various  small  articles  such  as  towels,  handkerchiefs,  mos 
quito  netting  to  fit  over  their  hats,  toilet  articles,  a  sewing 
kit,  and  dark  glasses  to  protect  the  eyes  from  the  glare  of 
the  snow.  They  had  brought  a  partial  supply  of  these 


BUYING  AN   OUTFIT  13 

things  from  home,  owing  to  the  forethought  of  good 
Mrs.  Bradford. 

That  afternoon  the  boys  were  given  their  freedom,  as 
they  could  be  of  no  assistance  to  their  father  in  the  pur 
chase  of  the  hardware.  At  Mrs.  Kingsley's  suggestion, 
with  Flora  for  a  guide,  they  took  a  cable-car  to  Lake 
Washington,  east  of  the  city,  where  a  great  land-slide  had 
wrecked  many  houses. 

When  they  returned  it  was  nearly  supper-time.  Mr. 
Bradford  had  completed  his  purchases,  and  the  goods  had 
been  delivered  at  the  house. 

The  boys  could  hardly  wait  for  supper  to  be  over,  so 
eager  were  they  to  rush  out  into  the  storeroom  and  in 
spect  the  new  supplies,  but  at  last  they  were  free  to  go. 
There  stood  three  pairs  of  fine  snow-shoes  made  in  Mich 
igan.  Mr.  Kingsley  slyly  remarked  that  he  would  like 
to  be  present  when  they  first  tried  to  use  them,  but 
when  Mr.  Bradford  observed  that  he  had  already  been 
invited,  the  jolly  gentleman  laughed  and  said  he  sup 
posed,  if  he  accepted,  he  would  have  to  be  a  participa 
tor  in  the  gymnastics  instead  of  a  spectator,  which  might 
interfere  with  his  enjoyment  of  the  occasion. 

Mr.  Bradford  now  took  from  its  canvas  case  a  double- 
barrelled  shot-gun  of  excellent  workmanship  and  very 
light  weight,  which  he  handed  to  David.  The  latter 
thought  at  once  of  the  bear-skin  which  he  had  already 
resolved  to  bring  back  to  Flora,  to  whom  he  had  taken 


14:       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

a  great  fancy.  What  a  delight  it  would  be  to  own  the 
beautiful  weapon  now  in  his  hands!  He  had  no  idea 
that  his  father  was  about  to  test  his  sense  of  fairness. 

"I  intend,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "to  give  this  gun  to 
one  of  you  boys.  Now,  Dave,  which  do  you  think  ought 
to  have  it?" 

David  found  his  desire  and  his  generosity  at  once 
engaged  in  a  struggle.  He  had  asked  for  a  camera 
and  received  it.  Ought  he  to  have  all  the  good  things  ? 
Thanks  to  his  affection  for  Roly  and  his  strong  sense 
of  right,  the  struggle  was  brief. 

"I  think,  sir,"  he  replied  after  a  moment,  "that  if  you 
believe  Roly  is  old  enough  and  careful  enough,  he  ought 
to  have  it,"  and  to  prove  his  sincerity  he  immediately 
turned  the  gun  over  to  that  delighted  youth,  who  was 
no  less  pleased  than  Mr.  Bradford  at  this  outcome.  The 
latter  stepped  to  the  corner  of  the  room  and  presently 
returned,  holding  something  behind  his  back. 

"  Since  you  have  made  the  right  decision,"  said  he, 
smiling,  "  I  'm  very  glad  to  give  you  this,"  and  he  handed 
to  David  a  fine  rifle. 

David  could  hardly  realize  his  good  fortune,  but  he 
thanked  his  father  again  and  again  and  expressed  his 
pleasure  as  well  as  he  was  able. 

Mrs.  Kingsley  asked  Mr.  Bradford  if  he  did  not  fear 
they  would  shoot  themselves  or  somebody  else,  to  which 
that  gentleman  replied  that  he  should  personally  instruct 


BUYING  AN  OUTFIT  15 

them  in  the  use  of  the  weapons,  and  take  care  that  they 
were  competent  and  careful  before  he  allowed  them  to 
hunt  by  themselves.  As  for  himself,  he  expected  to 
carry  only  a  revolver. 

Outside  the  door  stood  three  strong  sleds,  one  about 
six  feet  long  and  the  others  two  feet  shorter,  which  were 
to  carry  their  supplies.  Then  there  were  bread-tins,  a 
frying-pan,  and  aluminum  kettles  and  cups,  very  light 
in  weight,  and  made  to  nest  one  within  another,  thus 
taking  up  the  smallest  possible  space.  The  plates,  forks, 
and  spoons  were  also  of  aluminum ;  but  the  knives,  which 
required  greater  strength  and  a  keen  edge,  were  of  steel. 
There  were  three  handsome  hunting-knives  and  belts. 

As  his  brother  had  a  portable  sheet-iron  stove,  as  well 
as  a  whip-saw  and  other  tools,  Mr.  Bradford  omitted  those 
articles,  but  thought  it  best  to  provide  an  axe  for  himself 
and  hatchets  for  the  boys,  some  rope,  a  shovel,  a  pick, 
a  gold-pan,  compasses,  fishing-lines  and  flies,  and  a  sup 
ply  of  medicines. 

A  rainstorm  set  in  on  the  following  day,  but  the  boys 
were  not  to  be  kept  in  the  house.  They  visited  a  ship 
yard  where  eighteen  light-draught  steamers  were  in  pro 
cess  of  construction  for  the  Yukon  River.  Then  at 
Roly's  suggestion  they  went  down  to  the  wharves,  where 
countless  great  sea-gulls  flew  to  and  fro,  dipping  occa 
sionally  to  pick  up  stray  bits  of  food.  Here  they  were 
just  in  time  to  witness  the  arrival  of  the  ocean  steamer 


16       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"  Walla  Walla,"  from  San  Francisco,  with  hundreds  of 
Klondikers  on  board, —  a  motley  collection  of  rough-look 
ing  men,  and  not  a  few  women.  They  also  saw  an 
antiquated  steamer  with  a  very  loud  bass  whistle  and  a 
great  stern  paddle-wheel  which  churned  up  the  water 
at  a  furious  rate. 

While  the  boys  were  thus  occupied,  Mr.  Bradford  had 
been  busy  with  the  food  supply,  and  reported  at  the 
supper  table  that  he  had  completed  the  work,  and  the 
provisions  had  been  sent  down  to  the  "  Farallon,"  —  the 
steamer  which  was  to  carry  the  little  party  northward. 
Being  desired  by  the  boys  to  make  known  what  sort  of 
fare  they  might  expect  on  the  trail,  he  read  the  list  of 
the  articles  of  food,  the  amount  in  each  case  being  esti 
mated  as  sufficient  for  six  months. 

Mr,  Kingsley  asked  if  it  was  not  the  rule  of  the  Cana 
dian  mounted  police  to  turn  back  at  the  boundary  line 
all  persons  who  did  not  have  a  year's  supplies,  to  which 
Mr.  Bradford  replied  that  such  was  the  case  on  the  Chil- 
koot  and  White  Pass  trails  from  Dyea  and  Skagway,  but 
he  understood  that  so  few  miners  had  yet  gone  in  by 
the  Dalton  trail  from  Pyramid  Harbor  through  the  Chil- 
kat  River  valley  that  the  police  had  not  yet  established 
a  post  upon  that  trail. 

The  provisions  upon  Mr.  Bradford's  list  included  bacon, 
salt  pork,  ham,  flour,  corn  meal,  rolled  oats,  beans,  rice, 
crystallized  eggs ;  evaporated  fruits  such  as  apples,  peaches, 


BUYING  AN  OUTFIT  17 

apricots,  plums,  and  prunes ;  evaporated  vegetables,  includ 
ing  potatoes,  onions,  cabbages,  and  soup  vegetables; 
raisins,  canned  butter,  hard-tack,  baking  powder,  sugar, 
salt,  pepper,  concentrated  vinegar,  mustard,  tea,  coffee, 
cocoa,  condensed  milk,  and  beef  tablets. 

With  such  a  variety  the  boys  felt  sure  they  could  live 
very  comfortably,  and  were  surprised  that  so  many  fruits 
and  vegetables,  and  even  butter  and  eggs,  could  be 
had  in  such  convenient  forms. 


18       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  III 

FROM  SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID   HARBOR 

LATE  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  the 
9th  of  March,  the  travellers  embarked  on  the 
"Farallon,"  commanded  by  the  genial  Captain 
Roberts.  The  "  Farallon "  was  not  as  graceful  a  vessel 
as  the  Eastern  steamers  to  which  the  boys  were  accus 
tomed,  but  she  appeared  to  be  stanch  and  seaworthy,  — • 
qualities  eminently  to  be  desired  in  view  of  the  six  days' 
voyage  of  a  thousand  miles  which  lay  before  her. 

Her  decks  were  now  thronged  with  hopeful  Klondikers 
of  all  ages  and  descriptions,  the  majority  men,  though 
there  were  a  few  brave  women  who  preferred  roughing 
it  with  their  husbands  to  staying  behind  in  physical 
comfort,  but  alone.  On  the  bow  temporary  stalls  had 
been  built  for  a  score  of  horses  intended  for  use  in  the 
coast  towns  or  on  the  trails. 

As  the  wharf  receded  David  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 
girlish  figure  and  a  face  framed  in  wavy  light  hair, 
among  the  crowd.  Flora  saw  him  at  the  same  moment 
and  waved  her  handkerchief.  How  pretty  and  winsome 
she  looked!  David  vowed  then  and  there  to  bring  her 
that  bear-skin  at  all  hazards.  At  last,  when  he  could 


FROM  SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID  HARBOR    19 

see  her  no  longer,  he  turned  toward  the  stateroom  on 
the  upper  deck  abaft  the  pilot-house,  where  his  father 
was  stowing  away  the  brown  canvas  bags  which  con 
tained  their  clothing  and  such  small  articles  as  they 
would  need  on  the  trail. 

We  must  pass  rapidly  over  the  events  of  the  voyage, 
filled  though  it  was  with  experiences  quite  new  to  the 
Bradfords.  At  Victoria,  the  pleasant  little  capital  of 
British  Columbia,  situated  on  the  southern  point  of  Van 
couver  Island,  where  the  steamer  remained  half  a  day, 
Mr.  Bradford  procured  two  mining  licenses  which  gave 
himself  and  David  the  right  to  locate  claims  in  Cana 
dian  territory,  cut  timber,  and  take  game  and  fish.  These 
licenses  cost  ten  dollars  apiece,  and  no  claim  could  be 
legally  staked  without  one.  Poor  Roly,  not  having 
reached  the  required  age  of  eighteen,  could  take  neither 
license  nor  claim.  This  business  completed,  they  wan 
dered  through  the  city,  David  securing  a  picture  of  the 
magnificent  Parliament  building  then  just  finished. 

Two  days  later,  after  passing  up  the  sheltered  Gulf  of 
Georgia  and  crossing  the  broad,  blue  expanse  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound,  the  steamer  entered  a  narrow  water 
way  between  islands  on  the  west  and  the  mainland  of 
British  Columbia  on  the  east.  Here  the  scenery  was  of 
the  most  bold  and  rugged  description,  reminding  the 
travellers  of  the  Hudson  where  it  breaks  through  the 
Catskills.  On  either  side  rose  immense  mountain  masses, 


20       GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

covered  below  to  the  water's  edge  with  a  virgin  forest 
of  spruce,  cedar,  and  hemlock,  while  from  the  bleak,  tree 
less  summits  the  snow  could  sometimes  be  seen  blowing 
into  the  air  like  smoke. 

"  What  a  pity,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bradford  to  David  and 
Holy,  as  they  stood  upon  the  deck  gazing  about  them  in 
admiration,  "that  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  this  coast 
are  so  little  known !  We  Ve  been  travelling  for  hours 
through  this  paradise  without  seeing  a  hotel,  or  a  cot 
tage,  or  even  a  log-cabin,  and  yet  I  believe  it  will  not 
be  long  before  tourists  will  throng  to  this  region.  Now 
there,"  said  he,  pointing  to  a  level  plateau  on  the  top  of 
a  forest-covered  ridge  which  rose  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  water,  —  "  there  is  an  ideal  site  for  a  hotel.  It  com 
mands  a  view  of  the  strait  both  north  and  south,  and  of 
the  mountains  in  every  direction.  No  doubt  there  is  a 
lake  in  that  hollow  beyond  it,  and  the  waterfall  yonder 
is  its  outlet.  I  should  like  to  spend  a  summer  right 
here." 

That  evening  they  emerged  into  Dixon's  Entrance, 
where  the  open  Pacific  tossed  them  about  for  several 
hours  until  they  came  again  into  the  lee  of  islands. 
Morning  found  them  at  Saxman,  a  village  of  the  extreme 
southern  end  of  Alaska,  where  the  "Farallon"  stopped 
to  take  on  a  passenger. 

At  Ketchikan,  a  few  miles  beyond,  there  was  a  good 
wharf  and  a  considerable  settlement,  and  here  the  Brad- 


FROM  SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID  HARBOR    21 

fords  saw  for  the  first  time  a  raven,  which  the  boys  mis 
took  for  a  crow.  Here,  too,  they  first  beheld  an  Indian 
totem-pole,  —  a  great  tree-trunk  carved  into  grotesque 
shapes  of  beast  and  bird,  and  strange  caricatures  of  the 
human  countenance,  all  of  which  doubtless  had  a  signifi 
cance  relating  to  the  tribe,  family,  and  achievements  of 
the  deceased  chieftain  whose  memory  it  perpetuated. 

David,  with  the  enthusiasm  of  an  amateur,  attempted 
to  photograph  this  strange  column,  but  as  the  day  was 
dark  and  a  damp  snow  was  falling,  he  failed  to  obtain 
first-rate  results. 

At  ten  in  the  evening  the  lights  of  Wrangel,  or  Fort 
Wrangel,  as  it  is  often  called,  being  a  United  States  mili 
tary  post,  came  into  view.  Late  as  it  was,  the  Bradfords 
decided  to  go  ashore,  for  this  was  one  of  the  larger 
Alaskan  towns.  The  wharf  was  unlighted  save  by  the 
steamer's  lamps,  but  they  picked  their  way  without  much 
difficulty.  Most  of  the  townspeople  seemed  to  have  re 
tired,  and  only  the  saloons  and  dance  halls  showed  signs 
of  life.  From  these  places  the  travellers  heard  the  strains 
of  a  fiddle,  or  the  worn,  hard  voice  of  some  poor  girl 
doomed  to  sing  to  a  throng  of  rough  men  amid  the  glare 
of  lights  and  the  fumes  of  beer  and  bad  tobacco. 

There  were  many  evidences  that  the  gold  excitement 
had  brought  a  large  if  transient  population  to  Wrangel. 
New  frame  buildings  were  in  process  of  erection  all  along 
what  appeared  to  be  the  main  street,  which  was,  how- 


22       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

ever,  utterly  impassable  for  any  kind  of  wheeled  vehicle, 
being  a  deep  ditch  far  below  the  level  of  the  board  walk 
which  skirted  it.  In  this  hollow  what  little  light  there 
was  revealed  logs,  lumber,  boats,  and  mud,  and  it  was 
evident  that  at  high  tide  the  water  filled  it.  The  build 
ings  were  raised  on  piles  to  the  level  of  the  future  high 
way. 

The  Bradfords  followed  the  walk  with  the  utmost 
caution,  for  some  of  the  boards  were  missing  and  others 
were  broken,  and  in  the  darkness  an  ankle  might  be 
sprained  or  a  leg  fractured  by  one  false  step.  The  boys 
took  turns  in  going  ahead,  the  leader  warning  those  be 
hind  of  holes  and  pitfalls. 

After  proceeding  thus  gingerly  for  nearly  half  a  mile 
and  passing  several  elaborate  totem-poles,  they  found 
themselves  well  out  of  the  business  portion  of  the  town 
and  in  the  midst  of  a  collection  of  tents  interspersed 
with  cheap  frame  structures.  Here  and  there  on  tents 
and  houses  they  could  dimly  distinguish  flaming  adver 
tisements  of  museums  and  various  catch-penny  shows, 
but  none  of  them  were  open  at  that  hour.  The  board 
walk  seemed  to  lead  no  farther,  so  the  three  carefully 
and  slowly  retraced  their  steps  to  the  steamer,  where 
a  lively  scene  presented  itself. 

Three  incandescent  lights  backed  by  a  powerful  re 
flector  had  been  rigged  on  board  to  illumine  the  forward 
deck  and  hold,  from  which  freight  was  being  discharged 


FROM   SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID   HARBOR         23 

upon  the  wharf.  Captain  Roberts  informed  them  that 
one  hundred  tons  of  freight  were  to  be  left  at  Wrangel, 
and  a  number  of  the  horses  and  dogs. 

"  Ah ! "  said  Roly,  "  I  'm  glad  some  of  the  horses  are 
to  go  ashore  here.  They  haven't  had  a  chance  to  lie 
down  since  we  left  Seattle." 

"No,"  said  David;  "and  I  saw  two  this  morning  so 
tired  that  they  went  to  sleep  standing  up.  Their  eyes 
were  shut,  and  their  heads  kept  drooping,  drooping,  and 
then  popping  up  again  like  Mr.  Dobson's  when  he  goes 
to  sleep  in  church." 

Roly  laughed.  "I  only  hope,"  said  he,  "the  poor 
brutes  will  have  no  worse  time  on  the  trail." 

Just  as  dawn  was  breaking  over  the  town,  the  "Far- 
allon"  took  advantage  of  high  tide  to  pass  through 
Wrangel  Narrows,  —  a  tortuous  channel  between  low, 
wooded  shores,  where  the  scenery,  though  of  a  subdued 
character,  was  exceedingly  beautiful.  A  bark  and  a 
barkentine  were  aground  in  this  dangerous  passage, 
though  buoys  and  lighthouses  were  plentiful;  but  the 
steamer  emerged  safely  in  due  time  into  broader  waters, 
and  the  day  passed  without  special  incident  until  even 
ing,  when  they  had  passed  the  latitude  of  Sitka,  the 
Alaskan  capital,  on  Baranoff  Island  to  the  west. 

Not  long  after  supper  Mr.  Bradford  and  David  were 
reading  in  the  stateroom  and  Roly  was  sitting  on  the 
iron  grating,  through  which  a  pleasant  warmth  arose 


24       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

from  the  engine-room,  when  they  all  heard  a  bumping 
sound  and  felt  the  steamer  tremble.  A  second  later 
there  came  another  bump.  Instantly  bells  rang  and  the 
engine  stopped,  while  Roly  jumped  from  the  grating,  and 
running  to  the  bridge  peered  forward  into  the  darkness. 
He  could  see  nothing  in  that  direction,  nor  could  Mr. 
Bradford  and  David,  who  were  quickly  beside  him;  but 
the  next  moment  a  huge  block  of  ice  and  several  smaller 
fragments  grazed  along  the  steamer's  side,  and  were 
dimly  illuminated  by  her  lights.  Then  they  understood 
what  had  happened. 

"  She 's  hit  one  o'  them  small  icebergs  out  o'  Glacier 
Bay,"  they  heard  a  man  say  on  the  deck  below  them. 
"There's  many  of  'em  hereabouts,  I'm  told,  but  they 
ain't  big  enough  to  do  damage." 

"  Not  if  she  hits  'em  square,"  said  another  voice. 

Captain  Roberts,  however,  thought  it  best  to  be 
cautious,  especially  as  he  had  just  broken  the  bell-wire 
and  could  only  communicate  with  the  engine-room  by 
speaking-tube.  He  sent  a  man  to  the  bow  of  the  vessel 
to  watch  for  ice,  and  ordered  half-speed  ahead. 

In  a  few  hours  they  had  reached  Juneau.  It  was  so 
late  that  the  Bradfords  did  not  leave  the  ship,  but  they 
could  see  by  the  lights  that  Juneau  was  larger  than 
Wrangel,  and  contained  not  a  few  wooden  buildings  of 
very  respectable  size  and  appearance.  It  was  a  mystery 
how  the  town  could  grow  any  more,  however,  except 


FROM   SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID   HARBOR         25 

straight  up  in  the  air  like  New  York,  for  it  was  sur 
rounded  by  water  on  two  sides,  and  on  the  others  by 
huge  barriers  of  rock  two  thousand  feet  high.  Across 
the  strait  a  few  straggling  lights  disclosed  the  location 
of  Douglass  City  and  the  famous  Treadwell  gold  mines. 

The  following  day  was  mild,  but  the  scenery  became 
more  Arctic.  The  steamer  passed  up  the  long  inlet 
known  as  the  Lynn  Canal,  on  either  side  of  which  rose 
bold  peaks  crowned  with  brilliant  snow.  Glaciers  flowed 
through  the  valleys  between  them,  —  great  frozen  rivers 
which  no  summer  sun  could  melt.  Of  these,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  graceful  was  the  Davidson  glacier  on 
the  western  side  of  the  strait.  Ducks  were  seen  here  in 
countless  numbers.  Porpoises  rolled  and  played  about 
the  vessel,  and  Roly  caught  sight  of  a  seal  which  bobbed 
above  the  water  at  intervals. 

As  they  were  now  nearing  the  end  of  the  voyage,  Mr. 
Bradford  and  the  boys  wrote  letters  to  send  back  by 
the  purser.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the  course  was 
changed  slightly  to  the  west,  and  the  steamer  entered 
Pyramid  Harbor,  a  beautiful  circular  sheet  of  water, 
flanked  on  the  south  by  high  mountains.  Near  its  eastern 
side  rose  a  pointed  mound  of  pyramidal  shape,  to  which 
the  harbor  owed  its  name. 

On  the  southwest  shore,  under  the  shadow  of  the 
mountains,  lay  the  little  settlement,  prominent  in  which 
was  an  extensive  salmon  cannery.  In  front  of  the  can- 


26       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

nery  two  wharves  projected  toward  the  bay,  —  one  high 
above  the  beach,  designed  for  use  at  high  tide ;  the  other 
a  slender  affair,  longer  and  lower. 

"  There  must  be  very  high  tides  here,"  said  Mr.  Brad-, 
ford,  observing  the  wharves. 

"Yes,"  answered  a  tall,  brown-whiskered  man  who 
stood  near.  "  Twenty  foot,  if  I  ain't  mistaken.  Reminds 
me  o'  the  Bay  o'  Fundy,  only  there  they  gen'rally  build 
only  one  wharf  an'  give  it  two  stories." 

The  boys  recognized  in  the  speaker  the  man  whom 
they  had  heard  discoursing  of  icebergs  on  the  previous 
evening. 

"  The  cannery  does  n't  seem  to  be  running,"  observed 
Mr.  Bradford. 

"No,"  replied  the  other;  "I  b'lieve  they  only  run  it 
in  summer.  There  ain't  no  salmon  this  time  o'  year." 

Mr.  Bradford  told  David  to  see  that  everything  was 
ready  for  landing,  and  to  bring  the  clothing  bags  out 
upon  the  deck.  The  steamer  had  blown  her  whistle  as 
she  entered  the  harbor,  and  two  men  could  be  seen  walk 
ing  down  toward  the  end  of  the  lower  wharf.  Mr.  Brad 
ford  turned  his  field-glass  upon  them.  Suddenly  he 
uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and  handed  the 
glass  to  Roly. 

"  Do  you  know  either  of  those  men  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Why,"  said  Roly,  after  he  had  scrutinized  them  a 
moment,  "  the  second  one  looks  like  —  no,  it  can't  be.  I 


FROM  SEATTLE  TO  PYRAMID  HARBOR         27 

declare,  though,  it  does  look  like  him !     Yes,  it  is  Uncle 
Will!     But  what  a  big  beard  he  has!" 

David,  hearing  these  exclamations,  came  running  out 
of  the  stateroom,  and  joyfully  verified  the  identification. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  Uncle  Will  was  there,  but 
what  had  brought  him  was  more  than  they  could  con 
jecture. 


28       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    FIRST    CAMP 

THE  "  Farallon  "  was  slowly  and  carefully  brought 
to   the   end   of    the   lower    wharf,   though    the 
water  was  so  shallow  that    her  screw  stirred 
up  the  mud. 

Roly  and  David  signalled  with  their  caps  and  soon  at 
tracted  Uncle  Will's  attention,  and  that  gentleman  waved 
his  arms  delightedly  the  moment  he  saw  them.  Mean 
while  the  cannery  watchman  had  made  fast  the  steamer's 
bow  and  stern  lines,  the  latter  to  the  piling  of  the  higher 
wharf,  and  the  other  to  a  large  rock  on  the  beach.  A  few 
minutes  later  the  Bradfords  had  jumped  ashore,  and  the 
crew  had  piled  their  sleds,  provisions,  and  belongings  of 
all  kinds  in  a  promiscuous  heap  on  the  wharf.  They 
were  the  only  passengers  to  disembark  there,  for  the 
Dalton  trail  was  little  used.  The  "Farallon"  presently 
drew  in  her  lines  and  backed  away  with  a  parting  blast  of 
her  whistle,  to  continue  her  voyage  a  few  miles  farther 
up  Lynn  Canal  to  the  head  of  navigation,  whither  the  rest 
of  her  passengers  were  bound,  some  intending  to  go  to 
the  Klondike  by  the  White  Pass  trail  from  Skagway, 
and  others  preferring  the  Chilkoot  trail  from  Dyea. 


DAVID'S  MAP 

OF     THE 

DALTON  TRAIL 


SCALE  OF  MILES 


THE  FIRST  CAMP  29 

"I  didn't  expect  to  find  you  here,  Will,"  said  Mr. 
Bradford,  as  he  warmly  grasped  his  brother's  hand,  "  but 
I  'm  all  the  more  glad  to  see  you." 

"And  I'm  delighted  to  be  here  to  welcome  you, 
Charles.  I  '11  tell  you  how  it  happened  when  we  have  a 
moment  to  spare.  You've  brought  the  boys,  I  see. 
That 's  right.  They  '11  enjoy  the  life,  and  it  '11  do  them 
good.  Why,  I  hardly  knew  David  here,  he  's  grown  so 
tall !  We  '11  soon  have  some  tan  on  that  pale  face  of  his. 
As  for  Holy,"  and  he  eyed  that  healthy  specimen  of  a  boy, 
"about  all  he  seems  to  need  is  hard  labor  and  a  bread- 
and-water  diet." 

Roly  laughed,  for  he  saw  the  twinkle  in  his  uncle's 
eye,  and  had  no  fears  that  such  a  course  of  training 
would  be  inflicted,  —  or  at  least  the  bread-and-water  part 
of  it. 

"Is  that  good  mother  of  yours  well,  Roly,  and  the 
little  girl?"  asked  Uncle  Will. 

"Yes,"  said  Roly. 

"And  how  about  the  'Maine?'"  continued  his  uncle, 
turning  to  Mr.  Bradford.  "I  have  just  heard  that  she 
has  been  blown  up  at  Havana.  Shall  we  have  a  war  ? " 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "  It  may  happen, 
but  such  a  contest  wouldn't  last  long." 

Uncle  Will  was  of  the  same  opinion.  "And  now," 
said  he,  taking  command  of  the  little  party  by  the  tacit 
consent  of  all,  since  he  best  knew  what  was  to  be  done, 


30       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

"let  us  throw  off  our  coats  and  carry  these  goods  to  a 
place  of  safety.  The  tide  has  turned  and  will  soon  cover 
the  end  of  this  wharf.  We  must  get  everything  up  to 
the  level  of  the  cannery  buildings.  This  is  a  country  of 
work,  — good  hard  honest  labor,  of  which  no  man  need 
be  ashamed." 

So  saying,  he  stripped  off  his  outer  coat  and,  throwing 
it  over  a  post,  picked  up  a  fifty-pound  bag  of  flour  and 
swung  it  lightly  across  one  shoulder,  calling  to  his  brother 
to  place  a  second  bag  on  the  other.  Having  thus  ob 
tained  his  hundred-pound  load,  he  started  up  the  incline 
to  the  cannery.  Mr.  Bradford  now  followed  him,  David 
swinging  up  the  second  bag  to  his  father's  shoulder. 
David  took  a  single  bag,  finding  that  he  could  not 
manage  two,  and  Holy  staggered  along  with  another. 
On  the  next  trip  Mr.  Bradford  advised  Holy  to  bring  a 
bag  of  dried  apricots,  which  was  lighter,  and  thus, 
each  carrying  what  he  could,  all  the  supplies  were  at 
length  stowed  safely  above  high-water  mark. 

"Next,"  said  Uncle  Will,  as  he  resumed  his  coat  and 
wiped  the  prespiration  from  his  forehead,  "  we  must  have 
these  goods  taken  over  to  my  camping-place  on  the  west 
shore  of  the  harbor.  Suppose  you  boys  stand  guard 
while  your  father  and  I  see  if  we  can  get  a  boat.  All 
you  '11  have  to  do  will  be  to  keep  the  Indian  dogs  away 
from  the  bacon." 

The  boys  assented  to  this  proposal,  and  the  two  men 


THE   FIRST  CAMP  31 

walked  away  in  the  direction  of  the  Indian  village, 
which  lay  not  far  from  the  cannery  toward  the  harbor's 
mouth,  where  the  watchman  said  they  might  find  a  canoe. 

They  had  been  gone  but  a  few  minutes  when  several 
Indian  men  and  boys  approached,  dressed  in  the  clothing 
of  civilization,  but  quite  ragged  withal,  followed  by  a 
number  of  wolfish  dogs,  which  lost  no  time  in  running 
up  to  the  pile  of  provisions  as  soon  as  they  scented  the 
meat.  David  promptly  sent  a  snowball  at  the  largest 
cur  with  such  good  effect  that  he  beat  a  hasty  retreat, 
while  the  others,  seeing  his  flight  and  hearing  his  howls,  for 
the  snowball  had  struck  him  in  the  nose,  slunk  away  and 
sat  down  at  a  respectful  distance  to  await  developments. 

The  Indians  now  came  up  and  with  much  curiosity 
began  to  inspect  the  goods.  They  seemed  to  take  no 
offence  at  the  treatment  of  the  dogs,  much  to  the  relief 
of  the  boys,  who  half  expected  they  would  consider  it 
a  declaration  of  hostilities. 

"  Me  Chilkat  Indian,"  said  one  of  the  older  men, 
addressing  David  and  pointing  to  himself. 

David  nodded  to  show  that  he  understood. 

"  Where  you  go  ?  "  asked  the  Indian. 

David  did  not  know  that  the  place  to  which  they 
were  bound  had  any  name,  but  he  remembered  how  his 
uncle  had  dated  his  letter,  so  he  said,  "  Rainy  Hollow." 

"  Ugh  !  "  grunted  the  Indian.  "  Rainy  Hollow  there," 
and  he  pointed  to  the  north.  "You  go  get  gold?" 


32       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"Yes,"  said  David. 

"Me  go  too?" 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  David.  "Ask  my  father." 
He  motioned  toward  a  large  black  two-masted  canoe  which 
now  made  its  appearance  from  the  direction  of  the  village. 
One  of  the  natives  and  Uncle  Will  were  paddling,  while 
Mr.  Bradford  was  sitting  in  the  stern  and  steering. 

The  Indian  turned  and  scrutinized  the  craft.  "  Chief's 
canoe,"  said  he.  "Him  chief's  son." 

The  canoe,  which  was  quite  an  elaborate  affair,  built 
of  wood,  with  a  high  projecting  prow  and  stern,  was 
presently  brought  alongside  the  wharf,  the  end  of  which 
was  already  submerged  by  the  rising  tide.  The  occu 
pants  jumped  out,  and  the  Indian  tied  the  painter  to 
the  piling. 

"  Now,  boys,"  shouted  Uncle  Will,  "  off  with  your  coats 
again,  and  we  '11  soon  have  the  goods  on  board." 

They  had  hardly  begun  the  work  when  the  old  Indian 
approached  Uncle  Will  and  renewed  his  plea,  but  the 
white  man  shook  his  head  and  said,  "  Plenty  Indian. 
Long  Peter  go."  Which  lingo  the  old  fellow  under 
stood  perfectly. 

Large  as  the  canoe  was,  when  all  the  goods  were  on 
board,  together  with  the  three  men  and  the  boys,  it  was 
down  nearly  to  the  water's  edge.  There  was  no  wind, 
however,  and  the  course  lay  near  the  shore  under  the 
shelter  of  the  mountains. 


THE   FIRST  CAMP  33 

"  There,"  said  Uncle  Will,  in  a  tone  of  relief,  as  he 
resumed  his  paddle,  "  now  we  shall  be  clear  of  the  dogs. 
They  're  a  great  nuisance  wherever  there 's  an  Indian 
settlement.  I  've  no  doubt  they  would  have  kept  us 
awake  all  night  here  prowling  around  the  supplies." 

"Where  are  we  to  camp?"  asked  David. 

"Look  along  there  on  the  west  beach,"  replied  his 
uncle.  "You  can  see  my  tent  now.  It's  about  half  a 
mile  away." 

The  boys  looked  with  interest  at  the  spot  which  was 
to  be  their  first  camping-place.  Behind  the  tent  was  a 
dark  spruce  forest  which  spread  back  nearly  on  a  level 
for  a  short  distance,  and  then  mounted  the  steep,  snowy 
slopes  of  the  mountains.  Before  long  the  canoe  grated 
against  the  small  stones  near  the  beach,  the  Indian 
jumped  out  regardless  of  the  water,  and  carried  Uncle 
Will  and  then  the  boys  ashore  on  his  back.  Uncle  Will 
went  at  once  to  his  tent,  and  soon  reappeared  wearing 
long  rubber  boots.  Mr.  Bradford  passed  the  goods  out 
from  the  canoe,  Uncle  Will  and  the  Indian  carried  them 
ashore,  and  there  David  and  Roly  received  them  and 
took  them  up  the  beach  above  the  high-tide  mark  of 
driftwood  and  seaweed.  When  this  work  had  been 
accomplished,  the  Indian  was  paid  and  dismissed  and 
was  soon  paddling  back  to  the  settlement. 

"Now,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "do  you  know  how 
to  pitch  your  tent?" 

3 


31       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"  No,"  said  David,  "  but  we  'd  like  to  try  it.  I  guess 
we  can  manage  it  after  a  few  trials.  Our  tent  is  like 
Uncle  Will's,  isn't  it?" 

"  Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Bradford.  "  You  can  study  on  that 
awhile,  or  watch  me  pitch  mine." 

"  There 's  no  need  of  getting  yours  out  at  all,  Charles, 
unless  you  want  to,"  put  in  his  brother.  "My  Indian 
has  his  own  tent  back  there  in  the  woods,  and  you  can 
bunk  with  me." 

So  it  was  decided  that  only  the  boys'  tent  should  be 
raised,  and  they  set  about  it  at  once,  while  their  father 
cut  some  dry  spruce  boughs  on  which  to  pile  the  supplies. 

On  examining  their  uncle's  tent  they  found  that  it 
consisted  of  two  parts,  —  the  main  tent,  really  a  complete 
tent  in  itself  and  rendered  mosquito-proof  by  having  a 
floor  of  canvas  continuous  with  the  walls,  and  an  entrance 
which  could  be  tightly  closed  by  a  puckering  string ;  and, 
secondly,  the  fly  or  extra  roof  above  the  tent  proper. 
Ventilation  was  obtained  by  openings  covered  with  mos 
quito  netting  at  the  peak  in  front  and  rear. 

The  tent  stood  on  the  beach  between  the  line  of  snow 
and  the  high-tide  mark.  Underneath  it,  on  the  stones, 
was  a  thick  layer  of  small  spruce  boughs.  There  was 
no  possibility  of  driving  stakes  into  the  stony  ground,  and 
the  guy-ropes  were  tied  around  a  prostrate  tree-trunk  on 
each  side,  these  side  logs  being  about  five  inches  in  diam 
eter  and  fifteen  feet  long.  There  was  a  straight  and 


THE   FIRST  CAMP  35 

slender  ridgepole,  to  which  the  roof-ropes  were  attached, 
and  this  ridgepole  rested  upon  two  crotched  poles  at 
each  end  of  the  tent,  set  wide  apart  with  the  crotched 
ends  uppermost  and  interlocked. 

After  noting  all  these  things,  the  boys  sought  out  their 
tent  from  the  pile  of  goods  and  unrolled  it  to  get  some 
idea  of  its  size.  They  found  that  it  was  much  smaller 
than  their  uncle's  tent  and  had  no  walls,  the  roof  part 
sloping  to  the  ground  and  connecting  directly  with  the 
floor. 

"We  won't  need  such  long  poles  as  Uncle's  tent  has," 
said  David,  "  nor  such  heavy  side  logs  either.  Suppose 
you  cut  a  lot  of  spruce  boughs  to  put  underneath,  and  I  '11 
cut  the  poles  and  logs." 

Holy  assented  at  once,  and  the  two  set  off  for  the  woods 
with  their  hatchets.  There  was  abundance  of  spruce,  but 
David  had  considerable  difficulty  in  finding  saplings  or 
bushes  which  would  afford  crotched  poles  of  the  proper 
size.  He  found  it  a  slow  and  laborious  task,  too,  when 
he  attempted  to  cut  down  two  larger  trees  for  the  side 
or  anchor  poles,  and  was  finally  obliged  to  return  to  the 
camp  for  an  axe,  —  a  tool  which  Mr.  Bradford  let  him  have 
with  some  misgivings  and  many  words  of  caution.  Hav 
ing  succeeded  in  cutting  the  poles  and  spruce  boughs, 
they  were  obliged  to  make  several  trips  back  and  forth 
before  all  the  material  was  brought  to  the  beach,  the 
deep  snow  greatly  impeding  their  progress. 


36       GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

As  they  were  starting  out  for  the  last  time,  a  tall  young 
Indian,  with  cheeks  more  plump  than  an  Indian's  usually 
are,  shuffled  along  toward  them  on  snow-shoes,  „  drawing 
a  long  sled  loaded  with  wood.  He  smiled  good-naturedly 
when  he  saw  them. 

"Me  Long  Peter,"  said  he,  — "  Chilkat  Injun.  Go 
with  Mr.  B'adford.  You  go  with  Mr.  B'adford  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  David,  who  concluded  that  this  was  the 
Indian  his  uncle  had  mentioned.  So  the  three  returned 
to  camp  together. 

Savory  odors  were  now  wafted  about  from  the  camp- 
fire  where  Uncle  Will  was  getting  supper,  and  the  boys 
hastened  their  work  in  order  to  be  ready  when  he  called. 
They  succeeded  in  untangling  the  tent-ropes,  and  after  a 
few  mistakes  and  frequent  examinations  of  the  larger 
tent,  their  own  little  dwelling  was  set  up  near  the  other, 
on  a  soft  bed  of  fragrant  spruce.  Then  with  a  piece  of 
soap  and  a  towel  from  one  of  the  clothing  bags  they 
went  down  to  the  water's  edge  to  wash. 

Presently  Uncle  Will  shouted,  "  Muck-muck ! "  and 
the  boys  looked  around  inquiringly  to  see  what  he  meant. 
"  Supper-r  ! "  he  called  in  the  same  cheery  tone.  There 
was  no  mistaking  the  meaning  of  that,  and  the  little 
party  speedily  gathered  around  the  fire,  where  Uncle 
Will  informed  them  that  "  Muck-muck  "  was  the  Indian 
term  for  "  Something  to  eat,"  and  was  generally  adopted 
on  the  trail  as  a  call  to  meals. 


THE  FIRST  CAMP  37 

The  aluminum  plates  and  cups  were  handed  around, 
and  Uncle  Will  distributed  crisp  bacon  and  potato  and 
rice,  while  Mr.  Bradford  opened  a  box  of  hard-tack. 
David  meanwhile  made  himself  useful  by  filling  the  cups 
with  coffee,  and  passing  the  sugar  and  condensed  milk. 
As  for  Long  Peter  and  Holy,  finding  nothing  better  to 
do,  they  attacked  the  viands  at  once  with  appetites  sharp 
ened  by  labor. 

"  I  declare !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Bradford,  as  soon  as  he 
too  was  ready,  "  I  have  n't  been  so  hungry  since  I  was 
a  boy  in  the  Adirondacks.  What  memories  the  smell 
of  that  bacon  calls  up ! " 

He  took  a  seat  on  a  log  which  Holy  had  drawn  up 
before  the  fire,  and  presently  called  for  a  second  helping. 

"That's  right,  Charles,"  said  his  brother.  "It  does 
me  good  to  see  you  eat  like  that.  Well,  well !  the  boys 
are  ready  for  more,  too.  I  see  I  shall  have  to  fry  another 
mess  of  bacon.  Never  mind,  though !  That  means  just  so 
much  less  to  carry  on  the  trail."  And  their  good-natured 
cook  forthwith  cut  off  half  a  dozen  generous  slices  with 
his  hunting  knife  and  soon  served  them  crisp  and  hot. 

When  the  meal  was  finished,  the  dishes  washed  by 
Long  Peter,  and  fresh  wood  piled  on  the  fire,  Uncle 
Will  deftly  lighted  his  pipe  with  a  glowing  ember,  then 
turned  to  the  others,  who  had  comfortably  seated  them 
selves  around  the  crackling  logs,  and  declared  his  readi 
ness  to  explain  his  presence  at  Pyramid  Harbor. 


38       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  GREAT   NUGGET,   AND  HOW   UNCLE   WILL 
HEARD   OF  IT 

"  "W"       ET  me  see,  Charles,"  he  began;  "I  was  at  Rainy 

Hollow  when  I  wrote  to  you,  was  n't  I  ?  " 
'*-~*         "Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Bradford. 
"And  I  told  you  of  the  rumors  of  rich  strikes  about 
two  hundred  miles  in  on  this  trail?" 
"Yes." 

"Well,  my  intention  was   to  go  straight  to  that  spot 
with  all  possible  speed;  but  as  Robbie  Burns  puts  it, 

'  The  best-laid  schemes  o'  mice  an'  men 
Gang  aft  a-gley.' 

I  met  with  an  accident,  and  it's  fortunate  that  I  did, 
for  when  I  reached  this  place  yesterday  I  found  that 
the  stories  of  gold  had  leaked  out,  and  already  a  well 
equipped  party  of  more  than  thirty  men  had  just  landed 
here.  To  be  exact,  there  are  thirty-six  of  them;  and 
owing  to  the  absolute  secrecy  which  they  maintain  re 
garding  their  destination,  they  are  already  known  as  the 
Mysterious  Thirty-six.  I  have  tried  to  induce  two  or 
three  of  them  to  talk,  but  they  declared  they  knew  no 
more  about  their  plans  than  I  did.  Only  their  leader 


THE   GREAT  NUGGET  39 

knows  where  they  are  going,  and  what  they  are  to  do. 
Now,  I  am  perfectly  convinced  that  these  men  are  bound 
for  the  very  spot  I  wrote  you  about,  and  we  must  get 
ahead  of  them,  if  we  are  to  have  the  pick  of  the  claims. 
They  are  camped  now  about  three  miles  up  the  valley, 
waiting  for  a  party  of  Indians  who  are  to  help  them  with 
their  sleds. 

"It's  fortunate  I  had  to  return  to  the  coast,  for  you 
might  not  have  realized  the  necessity  of  outstripping 
them.  Besides  that,  I  have  cached  most  of  my  goods  a 
hundred  and  forty  miles  up  the  trail,  and  come  back 
empty-handed,  so  for  that  distance  Long  Peter  and  I 
can  help  you  with  your  outfit,  and  we  can  give  them  a 
good  race." 

"Won't  that  be  fun?  "  cried  Roly,  excitedly.  "I  should 
just  like  to  give  them  the  slip!" 

David  had  a  better  idea  of  what  it  meant.  "  You  won't 
feel  so  much  like  racing,  I  guess,"  said  he,  "after  a  few 
miles  of  it.  But,  Uncle,"  he  added,  "did  you  say  you 
had  cashed  your  goods?  You  haven't  sold  out,  have 
you?" 

"Oh,  no!"  answered  Uncle  Will.  "The  word  I  used 
was  'cached,'  which,  in  the  language  of  the  trail,  signi 
fies  that  I  left  my  goods  temporarily  beside  the  way. 
A  'cache,'  if  we  consider  the  French  word  'cacher,' 
would  mean  goods  concealed  or  covered  up;  but  the  idea 
of  concealment  is  not  prominent  in  the  miner's  use  of 


40       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

the  term,  and  in  fact  there  is  generally  no  attempt  at 
concealment.  It  would  be  death  in  this  country  to  be 
convicted  of  stealing  such  supplies,  and  few  Indians  or 
whites  would  venture  to  disturb  them." 

"I  understand  now,"  said  David,  "and  beg  pardon 
for  interrupting.  And  now  what  was  the  accident  you 
mentioned?" 

Uncle  Will  took  a  few  strong  puffs  on  his  pipe,  and 
blew  the  smoke  away  in  rings  meditatively.  Presently 
he  proceeded. 

"I  won't  stop  to  tell  you  much  about  my  journey,  for 
you  will  soon  pass  over  the  same  ground.  Rainy  Hollow, 
where  I  wrote  the  letter,  is  about  sixty  miles  from  here, 
near  the  summit  of  Chilkat  Pass.  I  pushed  on  from  that 
point  through  a  grand  mountainous  country.  Day  after 
day  I  trudged  through  snowy  valleys  and  over  frozen 
rivers  until  I  reached  Dal  ton's  trading-post,  the  location 
of  which,  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the 
coast,  you  have  doubtless  noticed  on  the  maps. 

"There  I  rested  a  day,  and  fell  into  conversation  with 
a  young  German,  Al  King  by  name,  who  told  me  he 
had  spent  all  of  last  summer  in  prospecting  on  the  coast, 
and  had  recently  explored  the  region  around  Dal  ton's. 
He  had  taken  a  claim  on  a  stream  called  Shorty  Creek, 
about  thirty  miles  away  and  somewhat  to  the  west  of  the 
main  trail,  and  thought  a  man  could  make  about  ten 
dollars  a  day  there,  working  alone ;  but  I  have  no  doubt, 


THE   GREAT  NUGGET  41 

from  what  he  told  me  of  the  character  of  the  gulch,  that 
operations  on  a  larger  scale  would  pay  extremely  well, 
and  I  resolved  to  turn  aside  for  a  look  at  the  place  on 
my  way  north.  I  convinced  myself  that  he  had  heard 
nothing  of  the  rumors  which  had  brought  me  into  the 
region,  and  had  not  visited  the  spot  to  which  I  was 
going,  and  I  thought  it  best  to  tell  him  nothing  then, 
though  I  hope,  if  all  goes  well,  to  do  him  a  good  turn 
later. 

"  After  leaving  Dalton's  Post,  we  —  that  is,  Long  Peter 
and  I  —  continued  as  far  as  Klukshu  Lake,  the  point  at 
which  we  were  to  turn  from  the  main  trail  and  make  a 
flying  trip  over  to  Shorty  Creek,  which  was  about  fifteen 
miles  distant  by  the  winter  route,  I  should  judge. 

"  We  were  cooking  our  supper  among  the  willows  near 
the  foot  of  the  lake  when  we  heard  the  sound  of  a  gun 
toward  the  north,  followed  by  a  cry.  We  both  jumped 
up  and  ran  to  the  shore,  in  order  to  get  a  clear  view 
up  the  lake.  Half  a  mile  away  near  the  east  bank  we 
could  see  what  was  apparently  a  man  lying  on  the  ice, 
with  a  smaller  person  bending  over  him,  while  a  dog 
was  running  and  barking  around  the  two. 

"On  reaching  the  place,  we  found  that  the  prostrate 
man  was  a  young  Indian  of  the  Stik  tribe,  whose  village 
lies  near  Dalton's  Post.  His  younger  brother,  a  lad  of 
about  fourteen,  was  with  him.  Long  Peter  recognized 
them  both. 


42       GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"  We  saw  at  once  that  Lucky,  the  older  one,  had  been 
shot.  As  we  afterward  learned,  he  had  left  his  shot 
gun  standing  against  a  log  on  the  shore  while  he  went 
out  on  the  ice  to  fish.  While  he  was  cutting  a  hole,  the 
dog  upset  the  gun  and  discharged  it,  and  poor  unlucky 
Lucky  had  received  most  of  the  shot  below  the  left  knee. 

"His  small  brother,  who  was  called  Coffee  Jack,  was 
trying  to  stanch  the  flow  of  blood  when  we  came  up, 
and  Lucky  was  quite  coolly  giving  directions.  I  bound 
a  handkerchief  tightly  about  the  wound,  and  we  helped 
the  unfortunate  fellow  to  our  camp,  where  we  made  him 
as  comfortable  as  possible.  On  the  following  day,  I  suc 
ceeded  in  picking  most  of  the  shot  out  of  his  leg, —  an 
operation  which  he  bore  with  true  Indian  fortitude.  Then 
came  the  question  of  what  to  do  with  him. 

"Long  Peter  was  for  leaving  him  right  there  in  care 
of  Coffee  Jack.  You  see,  there 's  not  much  love  lost 
between  the  Chilkats  and  the  Stiks.  The  two  tribes 
used  to  be  continually  at  war,  for  the  Chilkats  wouldn't 
let  the  Stiks  come  out  to  the  coast  without  a  fight.  And 
though  the  presence  of  the  whites  prevents  actual  war  at 
present,  the  members  of  the  rival  tribes  have  very  little 
to  say  to  each  other,  remembering  the  old  feud. 

"  I  was  quite  unwilling,  however,  to  leave  Lucky  until 
I  had  assured  myself  that  his  wound  was  healing  properly, 
so  we  remained  there  with  him  a  week.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  as  all  went  well,  I  made  preparations  to  con- 


THE   GREAT   NUGGET  43 

tinue  on  the  journey,  intending  to  leave  provisions  enough 
to  last  the  two  brothers  until  they  could  return  to  their 
village,  for  they  had  with  them,  at  the  time  of  the  acci 
dent,  a  very  small  supply  of  dried  salmon,  and  that  was 
already  consumed. 

"  There  are  two  log  shanties  near  the  foot  of  Klukshu 
Lake.  One  was  in  good  repair,  and  the  door  was  fas 
tened  with  a  padlock.  I  suppose  some  white  man  — 
Dalton,  perhaps  —  keeps  supplies  there.  The  other  was 
open  to  any  one  who  cared  to  enter,  and  though  the  roof 
was  gone,  the  hut  afforded  fairly  good  shelter.  Into  this 
hut  we  carried  Lucky,  after  repairing  the  roof  as  well 
as  we  could,  and  cutting  some  firewood,  for  it  was 
intensely  cold.  With  a  good  fire  blazing  in  the  centre 
of  the  room  and  Coffee  Jack  at  hand,  there  was  no  fear 
that  Lucky  would  suffer  with  cold,  even  though  the 
mercury  froze  in  the  tube,  as  in  fact  it  did  a  little  later 
in  my  pocket  thermometer  when  I  hung  it  on  my  tent- 
pole  one  night. 

x  "When  all  was  ready,  and  Long  Peter  and  I  had 
packed  our  goods  on  our  sleds,  I  went  into  the  hut  to 
say  good -by  to  the  brothers.  Lucky  beckoned  me  to 
come  closer.  When  I  had  done  so,  Coffee  Jack  shut 
the  door  behind  me.  I  thought  from  their  actions  that 
they  had  something  to  say,  and  did  n't  wish  Long  Peter 
to  hear  it,  which  proved  to  be  the  case. 

"  Having  made  sure  that  Peter  was  at  a  distance,  Lucky 


44       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  D ALTON  TRAIL 

said  in  a  low  tone,  '  You  good  man.  You  help  me.  You 
give  me  muck-muck.  Now  me  help  you.  Me  find  big 
nug  —  what  you  call  'em  —  nuggit  —  Kah  Sha  River  — 
big  as  my  head  —  four  moons.  Me  show  you  when 
snow  go  away  —  no  find  him  now. '  ' 

Here  Roly  interrupted  to  ask  if  Lucky's  head  was  as 
big  as  four  moons. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  replied  Uncle  Will,  smiling.  "  He  meant 
that  it  was  four  months  ago  when  he  found  the  big 
nugget.  The  only  month  the  Indians  know  is  the  period 
between  one  full  moon  and  another,  which  is  about  thirty 
days. 

"After  some  further  conversation  with  Lucky,"  con 
tinued  Uncle  Will,  "I  made  out  that  he  had  discovered, 
not  a  loose  nugget,  but  what  I  judge  is  a  remarkable 
outcropping  of  gold  ore  in  the  solid  rock.  He  had  no 
means  of  breaking  out  any  of  the  rock,  and  so  had  noth 
ing  by  which  to  prove  his  statements,  but  I  have  every 
reason  to  believe  him.  Now  the  Kah  Sha  River  is  the 
stream  into  which  Shorty  Creek  flows,  so  the  discovery 
must  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  King's  claim.  Lucky 
said  that  the  snow  was  very  deep  in  the  gorge  where 
the  nugget  is,  and  it  would  be  hidden  for  two  moons. 
He  promised  to  meet  me  at  the  proper  season,  and  go 
with  me  to  the  spot. 

"Long  Peter  and  I  then  started  on  our  journey;  but 
we  had  gone  only  a  short  distance  toward  the  lake  when, 


THE   GREAT  NUGGET  45 

in  descending  a  steep  bank,  all  the  upright  supports  on 
one  side  of  my  sled  gave  way,  some  of  them  being  split 
beyond  repair,  and  the  iron  braces  broken.  The  up 
rights  on  the  other  side  were  badly  wrenched  and  weak 
ened  at  the  same  time,  and  further  progress  that  day 
was  out  of  the  question.  We  therefore  took  everything 
back  to  the  hut,  and  cached  the  goods  there.  I  found 
it  impossible  to  repair  the  sled.  It  was  an  old  one 
which  I  never  ought  to  have  bought,  but  I  was  in  a 
hurry  when  I  started  into  the  country,  and  took  the 
first  one  I  saw. 

"  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  return  for  a  strong  sled. 
I  could  get  none  at  the  trading-post,  and  so  came  all  the 
way  back,  and  the  more  readily,  because  I  knew  it  was 
time  you  reached  here  if  you  were  coming.  Long  Peter's 
sled  we  brought  with  us,  and  now  I  must  go  over  to 
Dyea  or  Skagway  and  get  one  for  myself.  Then  we 
shall  be  in  first-rate  trim." 

"Well,  boys,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  as  Uncle  Will  fin 
ished,  "it  looks  as  if  we  had  work  ahead,  and  plenty 
of  it.  Better  turn  in  now  and  get  all  the  sleep  you 
can." 

The  boys  accordingly  rose  and  departed  toward  their 
tent.  David  crawled  into  that  small  dwelling  first,  and 
Roly  handed  him  a  rubber  blanket,  which  he  doubled 
and  laid  on  the  canvas  floor.  Then  a  down  quilt  was 
similarly  folded  and  placed  upon  the  rubber  blanket. 


46       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

The  heavy  woolen  blankets  followed,  and  finally  the 
other  quilt.  Into  this  warm  nest  the  boys  crept,  after 
removing  their  shoes  and  coats  and  rolling  the  latter 
into  the  form  of  a  pillow.  Two  minutes  later  they  were 
sound  asleep. 


ROLY  IS   HURT  47 


CHAPTER    VI 

ECXLY  IS  HTJKT 

THE  camp  was  early  astir.  Mr.  Bradford  exam 
ined  the  thermometer  which  he  had  left  out 
side  the  tent,  and  found  that  it  registered 
twenty-seven  degrees  above  zero. 

"I  expected  much  colder  weather  here,"  he  remarked, 
as  they  were  eating  their  breakfast  of  oatmeal,  ham, 
biscuits,  and  coffee.  "  We  must  hurry,  or  the  snow  will 
melt  under  our  sleds." 

"Oh,  there's  no  fear  of  that  yet,"  said  Uncle  Will, 
reassuringly.  "You  see,  we  still  get  the  influence  of 
the  Japanese  current  of  the  Pacific,  which  warms  this 
whole  coast.  We  shall  find  it  colder  in  the  interior. 
At  the  same  time,  we  have  a  long  distance  to  go,  and 
the  warm  weather  will  be  upon  us  all  too  soon.  Let 
me  see,  this  is  the  sixteenth  of  March.  To-day  I  must 
take  a  sail-boat,  and  go  over  to  Skagway  for  a  sled. 
It 's  hardly  possible  that  I  can  return  until  late  to 
morrow,  with  the  best  of  luck." 

"Can  we  do  anything  to  hasten  matters  in  the  mean 
time?"  asked  Mr.  Bradford. 


48       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"Yes,"  replied  his  brother.  "To-day  you  and  the 
boys  might  take  the  axes  and  hatchets  to  the  cannery 
and  have  them  ground.  It 's  a  great  saving  of  time  and 
labor  to  have  the  edged  tools  sharp.  Long  Peter  will 
look  after  the  camp  while  you  are  gone.  And  to-morrow 
I  advise  you  to  hire  that  Indian's  canoe  again,  and  take 
everything  but  the  tents  to  the  cave  about  three  miles 
above  here.  Peter  knows  where  it  is.  If  the  Mysteri 
ous  Thirty-six  are  camped  there,  you  can  leave  the  goods 
a  little  this  side  and  cover  them  with  oiled  canvas." 

Immediately  after  breakfast,  in  pursuance  of  these 
plans,  the  whole  party  except  the  Indian,  made  their 
way  along  the  beach  to  the  cannery,  where  Uncle  Will 
was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  the  services  of  a  boat 
man  just  arrived  in  his  sloop  from  Chilkat  across  the 
harbor.  The  breeze  was  favorable,  and  the  little  vessel 
was  presently  speeding  along  the  south  shore,  soon  pass 
ing  out  of  sight  around  the  point. 

The  grinding  of  the  axes  occupied  an  hour  or  more, 
after  which  the  three  walked  over  to  the  Indian  village, 
where  they  were  given  a  noisy  welcome  by  a  score  of 
dogs.  The  houses  were  rude  affairs,  built  of  hewn  boards 
and  logs,  but  affording  much  better  shelter  than  the  wig 
wams  which  the  boys  had  always  associated  with  Indian 
life.  They  had  seen  a  few  wigwams  near  the  railroad 
in  the  State  of  Washington,  but  here  there  were  none. 
In  attire,  too,  these  Indians  seemed  to  have  copied  the 


ROLY  IS   HURT  49 

white  people.  Two  or  three  women  who  were  cooking 
fish  outside  of  one  of  the  larger  houses,  wore  neat  hoods, 
dresses  and  shoes,  but  others  had  greasy  red  handker 
chiefs  tied  over  their  heads,  and  wore  torn  moccasins 
and  dilapidated  skirts. 

"I  wonder,"  said  David,  "if  it  is  true  that  the  Indian 
women  do  all  the  work.  I  have  heard  so." 

"No,"  answered  Mr.  Bradford,  "the  men  hunt  and 
fish,  and  work  for  the  whites  on  the  trails,  but  the 
women  do  all  the  domestic  drudgery,  even  to  the  cut 
ting  of  the  firewood.  The  men  have  rather  the  best  of 
it,  for  they  enjoy  a  variety  and  are  idle  about  half  the 
time,  while  the  work  of  the  women  never  ceases.  It 's 
a  good  deal  the  same,  however,  the  world  over.  I  have 
been  in  parts  of  Europe  where  the  wives  worked  in  the 
fields,  and  even  dug  cellars  for  new  buildings,  while  their 
husbands,  I  presume,  were  engaged  in  the  sterner  but 
less  wearing  duties  of  army  life.  Here  comes  a  poor 
old  drudge  now." 

The  boys  looked  in  the  direction  indicated,  and  saw 
an  old  squaw  staggering  along  toward  the  village,  with 
a  heavy  spruce  log  on  her  shoulder.  She  had  brought 
it  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  hillside  back  of  the  can 
nery.  While  they  watched  her,  they  saw  her  slip  on  a 
bit  of  icy  ground  and  fall,  the  log  fortunately  rolling  to 
one  side.  With  one  quick  impulse  David  and  Roly  ran 
to  help  her. 

4 


50       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

She  had  risen  to  her  feet  as  they  approached,  and  was 
making  ineffectual  efforts  to  raise  the  log.  The  boys 
picked  it  up  in  a  twinkling,  —  it-  was  not  much  of  a  load 
for  them,  —  and  having  settled  it  firmly  on  their  shoul 
ders,  they  looked  inquiringly  at  the  woman,  who  appeared 
much  surprised  at  their  action,  and  indeed  seemed  to 
fear  that  they  were  going  to  make  off  with  their  prize. 
David,  however,  motioned  to  her  to  go  ahead,  and  gave 
her  to  understand  that  they  would  follow.  In  this  man 
ner  they  reached  a  small  cabin  a  few  rods  distant,  where 
the  log  was  dropped  on  a  pile  of  chips  near  the  door. 

An  old  Indian  sat  on  a  stump  beside  the  house,  smok 
ing  his  pipe  complacently.  He  had  witnessed  the  whole 
proceeding,  but  had  not  offered  to  lift  a  finger  to  help  his 
poor  old  wife,  much  to  the  indignation  of  the  brothers. 

Mr.  Bradford  warmly  commended  his  sons  when  they 
returned,  adding,  "I'm  glad  to  see  you  differed  from 
the  old  native  yonder,  who  was  ashamed  to  do  a  woman's 
work." 

"We  didn't  stop  to  think  much  about  it,"  said  Roly, 
"but  I  guess  we  should  have  helped  her  just  the  same 
if  we  had." 

They  returned  to  camp  about  noon,  and  Mr.  Bradford 
prepared  the  dinner,  as  Long  Peter  was  not  a  competent 
cook.  In  the  preparation  of  fish  and  game  the  Chilkat 
was  an  expert,  but  such  dainties  as  hot  biscuits,  baked 
in  Uncle  Will's  Yukon  stove,  were  beyond  his  powers, 


ROLY  IS   HURT  51 

and  an  omelet  of  crystallized  eggs  caused  him  to  open  his 
mouth,  not  only  in  expectation,  but  in  astonishment. 

After  dinner  David  and  Roly  were  intending  to  visit 
the  railroad  excavation,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond  the 
camp,  on  the  northwest  shore  of  the  harbor.  A  dozen 
men  were  cutting  through  a  strip  of  high  land  which 
crossed  the  line  of  the  proposed  road.  The  work  had 
been  going  on  but  a  few  days,  during  which  the  trees 
had  been  cleared  away,  and  the  snow  and  earth  removed 
from  the  underlying  rock.  It  was  the  intention  of  the 
capitalists,  so  the  cannery  watchman  had  informed  the 
boys,  to  extend  the  railroad  clear  to  Dawson  along 
the  line  of  the  Dalton  trail,  but  he  doubted  if  they 
would  ever  complete  it,  for  a  rival  road  was  being  con 
structed  from  Skagway.  The  excavation  was  plainly 
visible  from  the  Bradfords'  camp. 

"Hurry  up,  Roly,"  shouted  David,  who  was  eager  to 
start.  "The  workmen  are  all  in  a  bunch  up  there  in 
the  hole." 

Roly  hastily  swallowed  the  remnants  of  a  biscuit,  and 
finished  a  cup  of  tea  which  he  bad  set  in  a  snow-bank 
to  cool.  Then  he  ran  down  to  the  beach  where  David 
stood.  The  workmen  were  now  seen  to  leave  the  spot 
where  they  had  been  collected.  They  walked  rapidly 
to  their  shanty,  which  stood  not  far  from  the  hole, 
and  one  man  who  had  not  started  with  the  others  came 
running  after  them. 


52       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"I  believe  they  are  going  to  fire  a  blast,"  said  David, 
and  called  his  father  and  Long  Peter  to  come  and  see 
the  explosion. 

All  the  workmen  had  now  taken  shelter  behind  their 
shanty,  and  they  were  none  too  soon.  A  great  cloud  of 
earth  and  smoke,  mingled  with  fragments  of  rock  and 
timbers,  puffed  suddenly  out  from  the  bank,  followed  by 
a  mighty  detonation  that  echoed  from  peak  to  peak  of 
the  neighboring  mountains.  A  moment  later  the  Brad- 
fords  heard  two  or  three  stones  strike  around  them. 

Mr.  Bradford  instantly  realized  that,  great  as  the  dis 
tance  was,  they  were  not  out  of  danger.  As  he  turned 
to  warn  the  boys,  there  was  a  thud  and  a  cry,  and  Roly 
sank  to  the  beach,  pressing  his  hand  to  his  chest. 

In  a  twinkling  his  father  and  David  were  at  his  side. 
The  poor  boy  could  not  speak,  but  moaned  faintly  once 
or  twice.  His  face  was  white,  and  he  hardly  seemed 
to  breathe,  but  retained  his  consciousness.  They  lifted 
him  tenderly  and  laid  him  in  the  large  tent,  where  Mr. 
Bradford  gave  him  brandy,  felt  his  pulse,  and  then  un 
buttoned  the  heavy  Mackinaw  overcoat,  the  inner  coat, 
and  the  underclothing.  As  he  bared  the  boy's  breast, 
he  could  not  restrain  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and 
pity.  Through  all  that  thick  clothing  the  stone  had  left 
its  mark,  —  a  great  red  bruise  on  the  fair  skin,  and  so 
great  was  the  swelling  that  he  feared  a  rib  had  been 
broken.  Such  happily  was  not  the  case,  and  Mr.  Brad- 


HOLY  IS  HURT  53 

ford  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief  as  soon  as  he  had  satisfied 
himself  on  that  point. 

"It  —  it  knocked  the  wind  out  of  me,"  said  Holy, 
faintly,  when  at  last  he  could  speak. 

"I  should  think  it  would  have,"  said  Mr.  Bradford, 
with  emphasis.  "It  would  have  killed  you  if  it  had 
struck  you  on  the  other  side  or  in  the  head.  Thank 
God  it  was  no  worse ! " 

Long  Peter,  who  had  been  poking  around  on  the  beach 
where  Roly  had  stood,  came  up  to  the  tent  with  a  frag 
ment  of  rock,  which  he  handed  to  Mr.  Bradford.  It 
was  the  mischief-maker  without  a  doubt.  One  side  was 
smoothly  rounded,  but  the  other  was  rough  and  jagged, 
showing  that  it  had  been  violently  broken  from  the  parent 
rock.  It  was  but  half  as  large  as  a  man's  fist,  and  Roly 
found  great  difficulty  in  believing  that  so  small  a  stone 
could  have  dealt  such  a  blow. 


54      GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 
CHAPTER  VII 

CAMP  AT  THE  CAVE 

UNCLE  WILL  did  not  return  on  the  following 
afternoon  or  evening,  and  the  watchers  attrib 
uted  his  tardiness  to  contrary  winds.  All  the 
second  day  as  well  they  looked  for  him  in  vain.  Nor 
could  the  little  party  at  Pyramid  Harbor  accomplish  the 
work  they  had  planned.  Roly  was  in  good  trim  again, 
excepting  a  very  sore  chest,  but  the  Indian  canoe  which 
had  transported  their  goods  was  now  on  the  far  side  of 
the  harbor,  and  no  other  was  to  be  had.  Furthermore, 
the  trail  followed  the  beach,  which  was  free  from  snow, 
and  unfit  for  sledding.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but 
wait  for  Uncle  Will  and  the  boat  he  had  hired.  In  the 
mean  time,  letters  were  written  in  the  hope  of  an  oppor 
tunity  of  mailing  them. 

Early  on  the  third  morning,  they  saw  the  little  white 
sail  enter  the  harbor's  mouth.  Breakfast  was  hurriedly 
finished,  and  by  the  time  the  boat's  keel  grated  on  the 
stones  the  tents  were  down,  dishes  packed,  and  every 
thing  ready  for  embarkation. 

The  sloop  had  a  capacious  cabin,  which  took  up  so 
much  of  the  available  space  that  it  was  found  impossible 
to  put  more  than  one  sled  on  board.  She  could  carry 


CAMP  AT  THE   CAVE  55 

the  other  supplies,  however,  and  one  passenger  in  addi 
tion  to  the  boatman.  Uncle  Will  invited  his  brother 
to  be  the  passenger,  saying  that  for  himself  he  would  be 
glad  of  a  chance  to  stretch  his  legs  on  shore. 

Mr.  Bradford  therefore  climbed  into  the  boat  and  seated 
himself  on  a  sack  of  rice,  while  the  others  waded  into 
the  water  in  their  high  rubber  boots,  and  pushed  the 
heavily  laden  vessel  away  from  the  beach.  Then  they 
took  up  their  march  along  the  water's  edge,  dragging 
their  empty  sleds  after  them. 

In  some  places  it  was  possible  to  take  advantage  of 
the  snow  where  the  ground  above  the  beach  was  level 
and  clear  of  trees,  but  for  the  most  part  it  was  hard 
travelling,  the  sleds  apparently  weighing  more  and  more  as 
they  proceeded.  Roly  found  himself  looking  around  more 
than  once,  under  the  impression  that  some  one  for  a  joke 
had  added  a  rock  to  his  load,  but  he  was  always  mistaken. 

"Whew!"  he  gasped,  as  he  stopped  to  wipe  the  per 
spiration  from  his  face.  "If  an  empty  sled  is  so  hard 
to  pull  over  these  stones,  I  don't  see  how  we  are  ever 
going  to  draw  a  loaded  one." 

"  It 's  a  good  deal  easier  to  draw  a  loaded  sled  on  the 
snow-crust,"  said  Uncle  Will,  encouragingly,  "than  it 
is  to  overcome  the  friction  of  a  light  weight  here.  To 
morrow  we  shall  be  on  the  ice,  which  is  even  better  than 
the  crust." 

"How  far  are  we  going  to-day?"  asked  David. 


56       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"About  three  miles.  We  shall  not  try  to  go  beyond 
the  cave." 

The  attention  of  the  boys  was  attracted  by  the  noise 
of  a  waterfall  which  they  could  see  imperfectly  through 
the  trees.  The  water  dashed  over  a  perpendicular  cliff 
about  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  was  almost  enclosed 
by  a  sparkling  structure  of  ice. 

All  this  while  the  boat  was  in  plain  view,  sailing  on 
a  course  parallel  to  theirs,  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile. 
It  had  now  outstripped  them,  and  Uncle  Will  said  it 
ought  to  turn  in  soon  toward  the  shore.  It  became  evi 
dent  before  long,  however,  that  the  craft  was  in  trouble. 
She  was  well  out  from  the  land,  but  seemed  to  be  sta 
tionary.  The  shore  party,  slowly  as  they  moved,  now 
steadily  gained  on  her,  and  at  length  they  could  see  the 
two  occupants  standing  on  the  bow  and  thrusting  oars 
or  poles  into  the  water  in  different  places. 

"  She  's  aground ! "  exclaimed  Uncle  Will,  after  a  mo 
ment's  observation;  "and  the  tide  's  going  out.  This  is 
a  pretty  fix! " 

"Can  we  do  anything?"  asked  David,  eager  to  go  to 
the  rescue. 

"  Oh !  we  might  as  well  go  on  to  the  cave.  It 's  not 
far  now.  We  '11  leave  the  sleds  there,  and  then  see 
what  can  be  done.  I  don't  think  we  can  wade  out  to 
the  boat  yet,  for  there  are  two  or  three  channels  this 
side  of  her."  So  on  they  plodded  once  more. 


CAMP  AT  THE   CAVE  57 

The  cave  was  a  great  hole  in  the  base  of  a  cliff,  and 
would  comfortably  contain  a  score  of  men,  being  ten  feet 
high,  fifteen  feet  deep,  and  eight  feet  wide.  The  boys 
wondered  if  it  had  ever  been  the  haunt  of  robbers  or 
pirates,  —  a  fancy  which  the  still  smouldering  embers  of 
a  camp-fire  left  by  the  Mysterious  Thirty-six  seemed  to 
bear  out.  Indeed,  Holy  examined  the  interior  carefully, 
half  expecting  to  see  the  glimmer  of  gold  coins  in  the 
darker  crevices,  but  he  found  only  a  piece  of  canvas 
which  might  have  been  part  of  a  money-bag.  A  closer 
examination  showed  that  it  was  plentifully  sprinkled  with 
flour,  and  probably  had  never  been  used  for  anything 
more  romantic.  In  all  directions  the  snow  had  been 
trampled  hard,  and  numerous  bits  of  rope,  and  a  tin  can 
or  two  which  no  keen-eyed  Indian  had  yet  appropriated, 
showed  how  recently  the  place  had  been  deserted. 

Along  the  beach  was  a  row  of  crotched  poles,  most  of 
them  still  upright,  where  the  numerous  tents  had  stood. 
David  pointed  these  out  to  Holy  delightedly,  observing 
that  poles  and  spruce  boughs  in  abundance  were  ready 
cut  for  them. 

The  receding  tide  had  now  uncovered  miles  of  mud 
flats,  and  Uncle  Will  declared  himself  ready  to  try  to 
reach  the  boat.  Long  Peter  was  left  at  the  cave  to  cut 
firewood,  but  the  boys  preferred  to  accompany  their  uncle, 
and  started  off  in  high  spirits.  They  advanced  with 
some  difficulty,  for  the  mud  was  often  adhesive,  clogging 


58       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

their  boots  at  every  step  until  they  came  to  sandier 
stretches.  At  all  the  channels,  most  of  which  were 
easily  crossed,  although  the  water  was  running  swiftly 
seaward,  Uncle  Will  took  the  lead,  prodding  the  ground 
carefully  with  a  pole  as  he  walked,  to  guard  against 
quicksands.  In  this  manner  they  reached  a  deep  channel 
a  few  rods  from  the  stranded  sloop. 

Mr.  Bradford  and  the  boatman  had  been  watching  their 
progress  from  the  other  side  of  this  channel,  to  which 
point  they  had  brought  bacon,  hard-tack,  and  some  cook 
ing  utensils,  in  order  that  dinner  might  be  prepared  as 
soon  as  they  could  cross.  This  being  at  last  accom 
plished,  the  supplies  were  distributed  among  the  whole 
party,  and  they  made  their  way  to  camp. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  the  goods  were  all 
snugly  stowed  in  the  cave,  the  boat  having  been  brought 
up  at  high  tide.  The  boatman  sailed  away  before  the 
water  receded,  carrying  with  him  a  package  of  letters 
which  he  promised  to  mail  at  Chilkat  post-office.  Hardly 
had  he  gone  when  a  damp  snow  began  to  fall,  with 
promise  of  a  disagreeable  night. 

Roly  thought  it  would  be  fun  to  sleep  under  the  rocky 
roof  of  the  cavern ;  but  the  smoke  from  the  camp-fire  per 
sistently  filled  the  place,  and  he  was  obliged  to  give  up 
the  idea.  How  strange  it  seemed  to  the  boys  to  lie  there 
so  comfortably  under  the  blankets  in  the  tent  and  hear 
the  snowflakes  tap  upon  the  canvas!  The  fitful  gusts 


CAMP  AT  THE  CAVE  59 

that  swept  past  their  frail  dwelling  threatened  to  over 
throw  it,  but  the  anchor  logs  were  heavy  and  the  tent 
was  strong,  and  it  offered  so  perfect  a  shelter  that,  had 
the  occupants  not  heard  the  wind,  they  would  not  have 
known  it  was  blowing.  They  were  too  wearied  with  the 
day's  work  to  lie  long  awake,  even  amid  novel  surround 
ings,  and  soon  their  regular  breathing  gave  evidence  of 
the  deep,  refreshing  sleep  which  follows  out-of-door 
labor. 


60       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SLEDDING 

THE  following  day  was  Sunday,  and  they  rested 
in  camp. 

Saturday  night's  storm  had  ceased  before  day 
break,  and  fortunately  but  an  inch  of  snow  had  fallen, 
—  not  enough  to  interfere  with  their  progress.  The 
tents  were  brushed  clean  of  the  feathery  flakes  early  on 
Monday  morning,  before  being  taken  down  and  folded 
for  the  journey. 

Breakfast  over,  Uncle  Will  declared  that  no  time  must 
be  lost  in  loading  up  the  sleds.  It  had  been  decided 
that  for  the  first  day  David  should  draw  a  load  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds,  and  Roly  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  The  remainder  was  to  be  evenly  distributed 
between  the  three  long  sleds  drawn  by  Mr.  Bradford, 
Uncle  Will,  and  Long  Peter,  each  of  whom  would  have 
about  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Such  a  load  could 
only  be  drawn  where  the  trail  followed  ice  or  level  snow- 
crust.  In  soft  snow  or  on  hills,  Uncle  Will  said  they 
would  have  to  take  half  a  load  forward  and  then  return 
for  the  rest.  The  boys  were  sure  they  could  haul  heavier 
loads  than  those  assigned  to  them ;  but  their  elders  pre- 


SLEDDING  61 

f erred  not  to  overtax  their  strength,  feeling  that  growing 
lads  ought  not  to  go  to  the  extreme  of  exhaustion. 

David  selected  for  his  load  his  clothing  bag,  which 
weighed  fifty  pounds,  two  fifty-pound  sacks  of  flour,  a 
wide  flat  box  of  spices,  and  his  rifle  and  snow-shoes. 
While  his  uncle  showed  him  how  to  distribute  the  arti 
cles  to  the  best  advantage,  and  bind  them  securely  with 
a  lashing-rope  passed  through  the  side  loops  of  the  sled 
and  over  and  around  the  load  in  various  directions,  Holy 
proceeded,  with  the  assurance  of  youth,  to  load  his  sled 
unaided.  He  first  put  on  two  twenty-five  pound  boxes 
of  hard-tack,  then  his  clothing  bag  and  a  sack  of  flour, 
followed  by  his  shot-gun  and  snow-shoes,  and  tied  them 
all  on  as  securely  as  he  could.  When  his  uncle  had  fin 
ished  his  instructions  to  David,  he  was  surprised  to  find 
Roly's  sled  already  loaded  and  lashed. 

"There,  Uncle  Will,"  said  Roly,  proudly,  as  that  gen 
tleman  approached,  "I've  done  it  alone.  You  won't 
have  to  waste  any  time  on  me." 

"Ah!  "  said  Uncle  Will,  "so  I  see."  But  Roly  did  not 
notice  the  amusement  in  his  eyes  as  he  surveyed  the  work. 

"Now,  boys,"  he  continued,  after  a  moment,  "there's 
one  thing  more,  and  you  can  be  doing  it  while  the  rest 
of  us  are  lashing  our  loads.  Do  you  see  those  two  iron 
rings  just  above  the  forward  end  of  the  sled-runner  on 
the  right  side?" 

"Yes,"  answered  David  and  Roly. 


62       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"  Well,  they  are  intended  to  hold  the  '  gee-pole  '  in 
place.  Do  you  know  what  a  gee-pole  is?" 

The  boys  had  never  heard  of  the  contrivance  in 
question. 

"It  is  a  pole,"  explained  their  uncle,  "about  seven 
feet  long,  which  extends  forward  from  the  right  side  of 
the  sled,  and  serves  as  an  aid  in  guiding.  If  you  should 
try  to  guide  your  sled  with  the  drag-rope  alone,  you 
would  find  that  it  would  swerve  on  every  uneven  spot, 
and  slip  sideways  on  a  slope,  and  dig  its  nose  into  the 
sides  of  the  trail  where  the  snow  is  soft;  but  with  your 
right  hand  on  a  firm-set  gee-pole,  you  will  be  able  to 
steady  your  sled  and  guide  it  accurately  where  the  trail 
is  rough  or  rutty.  The  sled  will  answer  to  the  lightest 
touch  on  the  gee-pole.  You  can  cut  four  of  the  poles 
in  that  thicket  on  the  hillside  yonder,  and  fit  them  into 
the  rings.  I  believe  Long  Peter  has  already  supplied 
himself  with  one." 

Roly  and  David,  after  several  minutes'  search,  found 
four  straight  saplings  of  the  required  length  and  thick 
ness,  and  cut  them  down  with  their  hatchets.  The  large 
ends  they  trimmed  to  the  right  size,  and  inserted  them 
through  the  rings  of  the  sleds,  making  them  firm  by  driv 
ing  chips  wedgewise  between  the  iron  and  the  wood. 

At  eight  o'clock  all  was  ready,  and  the  procession 
started  with  Long  Peter  in  the  lead.  Behind  them  lay 
the  mud  flats,  with  the  shining  water  in  the  distance. 


SLEDDING  63 

Before  them  to  the  northward  stretched  a  broad  and  level 
expanse  of  snow,  with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  ice  swept 
clean  by  the  wind.  The  snow  was  almost  as  hard  as 
the  ice,  and  afforded  a  good  running  surface  for  the 
sleds.  On  either  side  of  this  broad  valley  of  the  Chilkat 
rose  high,  wooded  hills,  and  behind  them  glittering  peaks 
from  which  the  snow  would  not  entirely  disappear  even 
in  midsummer,  so  Long  Peter  informed  them. 

For  this  kind  of  travelling  the  spiked  "  creepers  "  were 
a  necessity,  enabling  the  feet  to  obtain  a  firm  hold  on 
the  alternate  lanes  of  ice  and  icy  snow.  They  were  worn 
beneath  the  rubber  shoe-packs,  and  fastened  to  the  feet 
by  leathern  thongs. 

They  had  not  proceeded  far,  when  they  came  to  a  low 
ridge  or  bank,  so  steep  that  Uncle  Will  was  obliged  to 
go  to  the  assistance  of  the  Indian.  When  the  first  load 
had  been  forced  up  the  incline,  the  Indian  returned  with 
Uncle  Will,  and  the  two  pushed  up  the  second  sled. 
Mr.  Bradford  and  David  followed  with  the  third,  the 
former  pulling  on  the  drag-rope,  and  his  son  pushing  on 
the  rear  of  the  load.  David  was  able  to  draw  his  own 
light  load  up  the  slope  without  assistance,  and  Roly 
came  close  behind  him. 

Unfortunately  for  Roly,  he  did  not  attack  the  ridge 
directly  but  diagonally,  which  brought  one  sled-runner 
higher  than  the  other.  In  an  instant  over  went  the  sled 
upon  its  side. 


64       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"What's  the  matter,  Holy?"  shouted  Uncle  Will,  who 
had  been  watching  from  the  other  side  of  the  bank. 

"My  sled's  upset,"  answered  Roly,  ruefully,  "and  the 
load  is  all  loose." 

"And  why  should  your  sled  have  upset  when  none  of 
the  others  did?" 

"I  suppose  it  was  because  I  didn't  go  up  the  hill 
straight." 

"That's  only  a  part  of  the  reason,"  said  Uncle  Will, 
good-naturedly,  as  he  came  up  and  scanned  the  pile.  "I 
expected  this  very  thing.  Don't  you  see  why?  You 
put  the  cracker  boxes,  the  lightest  part  of  your  load, 
underneath,  and  the  heavy  flour  sack  and  clothing  bag 
above.  The  whole  affair  is  top-heavy.  And  everything 
is  loosened  by  the  fall,  because  you  did  not  cinch  your 
lashing-rope.  Now  let  us  load  up  properly.  First  put 
the  two  bags  on  the  sled,  then  the  boxes  on  top  of  them 
—  so.  Now  the  load  does  n't  look  as  well  as  it  did  before, 
nor  seem  quite  so  capable  of  maintaining  its  balance,  but 
you  will  find  that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  will  ride  much 
better. 

"Pass  the  lashing-rope  over  or  around  each  article 
separately,  and  then  back  and  forth  over  the  whole  load, 
cinching  it  at  each  side  loop  as  you  pass  it  through.  Now, 
should  your  final  knot  loosen,  it  will  not  affect  the  whole 
load,  but  the  boxes  on  top,  and  the  trouble  can  be 
remedied  instantly,  the  cinches  holding  the  rest  of  the 


SLEDDING  65 

load  firm  all  the  while.  It  is  not  always  a  waste  of 
time,  my  lad,  to  take  instructions  when  they  are  first 
offered,  but  I  wanted  you  to  have  a  practical  demonstra 
tion  of  the  results  of  poor  loading.  Now  we  shall  get 
along  famously." 

At  noon,  when  they  halted  for  a  luncheon  of  cold  salt 
pork  previously  cooked,  hard-tack,  and  cold,  clear  water 
from  a  spring  on  the  eastern  hill  under  which  they  were 
resting,  Uncle  Will  estimated  that  they  had  covered  nine 
miles,  —  an  excellent  morning's  work.  They  had  crossed 
the  Chilkat  River  once  at  least,  and  possibly  several 
times,  but  as  river  and  gravel  flat  were  here  alike  cov 
ered  with  ice  and  snow,  they  were  unable  to  distinguish 
the  one  from  the  other. 

"  I  could  n't  eat  such  a  piece  of  fat  pork  at  home  to 
save  my  life !  "  declared  Roly,  as  he  took  a  huge  bite 
from  a  generous  slice.  "It  would  make  me  sick." 

"  I  rather  think  it  would, "  said  David ;  "  but  here  noth 
ing  seems  to  hurt  us.  How  good  and  sweet  it  tastes! 
My!  but  I  'm  hungry." 

"And  I  too,"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "I  can  feel  my  old- 
time  strength  coming  back  with  every  breath  of  this  air. 
In  a  week  or  two,  Will,  I  shall  be  as  rugged  as  you  are." 

"I've  no  doubt  of  it,"  said  his  brother;  "and  your 
beard  is  getting  a  beautiful  start,  too.  The  boys  won't 
be  able  to  tell  us  apart  after  a  little." 

"Never  fear,    Uncle,"   laughed   David.     "Unless  you 

5 


66       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

give  up  smoking,  or  Father  begins  it,  we  shall  have  no 
difficulty.     You  and  your  pipe  are  inseparable." 

"True  enough,"  said  Uncle  Will.  "My  pipe  is  home 
and  wife  and  children  to  me."  He  lighted  a  match,  and 
was  soon  puffing  away  with  great  satisfaction. 

"  How  far  are  we  to  go  this  afternoon  ?  "  inquired  Roly, 
abruptly. 

"Are  you  tired?"  asked  his  uncle,  before  he  answered. 

"No,"  said  Roly,  stoutly.  "I  could  keep  on  all  day, 
if  the  country  is  as  level  as  this." 

"Well,  then,"  said  his  uncle,  "we'll  try  to  make  nine 
miles  more.  But  if  you  get  very  tired,  don't  hesitate 
to  say  so." 

After  an  hour's  rest  they  proceeded,  halting  at  inter 
vals,  as  they  had  done  during  the  morning.  While 
travelling  they  were  too  warm  to  wear  the  Mackinaw 
eoats,  and  these  were  thrown  across  the  loads,  but  at 
every  halt  they  were  resumed  to  prevent  too  rapid  cool 
ing.  At  times  they  saw  the  "creeper"  marks  of  the 
Mysterious  Thirty-six,  and  Uncle  Will  said  he  felt  sure 
that  the  large  party  left  the  cave  on  the  very  morning 
of  the  day  they  —  the  Bradfords  —  had  reached  it.  If 
that  were  the  case,  he  thought  they  could  be  overtaken 
soon,  for,  as  a  rule,  a  small  party  could  move  more  rapidly 
than  a  large  one. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  the  treeless  expanse  of  the  river- 
bottom  became  narrowed  by  broken  ground  covered  with 


SLEDDING  67 

a  forest  which  encroached  from  the  west.  The  trail  fol 
lowed  by  the  Indian  led  them  into  the  midst  of  this 
forest,  taking  the  course  of  a  small  stream  which  wound 
through  it.  In  places,  no  ice  had  formed  along  the  bank, 
and  the  bottom  of  the  brook  could  be  seen  to  consist  of 
a  rusty  red  mud.  Long  Peter  drank  very  sparingly  of 
this  water,  and  cautioned  the  others,  saying  several  times, 
"No  good,  no  good." 

"Why  isn't  it  good?"  asked  Roly,  to  whom  the  water 
looked  clear  enough. 

"It  may  be  swamp  water,"  answered  his  uncle,  "or 
it  may  be  heavily  charged  with  minerals.  Perhaps  it 
would  not  hurt  you,  but  it  is  always  best  to  follow  the 
advice  of  the  natives  in  such  matters.  They  are  careful 
to  choose  only  pure  streams  or  springs  for  drinking  pur 
poses,  and  this  brook  appears  to  be  impregnated  with 
bog  iron,  so  probably  the  water  comes  from  some  stag 
nant  pond." 

Soon  after  five  o'clock,  when  Mr.  Bradford  and  the 
boys  were  growing  very  weary,  and  even  Uncle  Will, 
who  was  accustomed  to  the  work,  had  admitted  that  the 
march  was  a  long  one,  Long  Peter  gave  a  satisfied  grunt 
and  pointed  forward.  The  others  looked,  and  saw  a  row 
of  tent-poles  on  a  low  bluff.  They  had  reached  the  spot 
where  the  Thirty-six  had  spent  the  previous  night. 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Uncle  Will.  "We've  made  as 
long  a  march  as  they  did,  sure  enough,  though  we 


68       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

haven't  come  more  than  seven  miles  this  afternoon. 
We  will  camp  right  here,  and  thank  the  mysterious 
gentlemen  for  the  use  of  their  poles  and  boughs." 

On  the  succeeding  day,  there  was  a  well-defined  trail, 
much  cut  up  by  the  heavy  sleds  of  the  party  ahead,  for 
the  snow  was  now  deep  and  rather  soft.  In  spite  of 
the  excellent  manner  in  which  the  three  long  sleds  were 
loaded,  and  the  care  with  which  they  were  drawn,  upsets 
occurred  quite  frequently,  and  even  the  light  loads  of 
Roly  and  David  sometimes  overturned  in  the  deeper  ruts. 
Re-lashing  was  seldom  necessary,  however,  thanks  to  the 
instructions  of  Uncle  Will. 

As  the  sun  mounted  higher,  the  snow  became  softer, 
and  progress  increasingly  difficult.  To  deviate  from  the 
beaten  path  was  to  sink  hopelessly,  while  to  remain  in 
it  was  to  encounter  hollows  and  ruts,  from  which  two 
men  could  hardly  extricate  a  single  sled.  They  were 
constantly  obliged  to  help  each  other,  and  at  last  Uncle 
Will  gave  orders  to  wait  until  the  snow  hardened  again 
in  the  afternoon.  By  nightfall,  they  had  covered  about 
nine  miles,  reaching  a  point  opposite  the  Indian  village 
of  Klukwan,  which  lay  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river. 
Here  again  they  found  a  deserted  camp. 


KLUKWAN  AND   THE   FORDS  69 


CHAPTER   IX 

KLUKWAN  AND  THE  FORDS 

THE  boys  had  been  too  thoroughly  fatigued  to 
closely  observe  the  settlement  of  Klukwan  by 
the  waning  light  of  the  afternoon,  but  in  the 
morning  they  gazed  with  interest  at  the  village  across 
the  Chilkat.  The  shore  was  lined  with  canoes  of  various 
sorts  and  sizes,  and  the  river  at  this  point  was  free  from 
ice.  They  could  hear  the  barking  of  dogs,  and  see  men, 
women,  and  children  moving  about  among  the  houses, 
which  extended  along  the  shore  in  a  nearly  straight  line 
for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  There  were,  perhaps,  a  score  of 
buildings  in  all,  most  of  them  not  unlike  two-story  New 
England  farmhouses,  neatly  painted  and  well  preserved. 

"  You  would  hardly  believe  that  such  a  village  contains 
no  white  inhabitants,  would  you?"  said  Uncle  Will, 
who,  with  Mr.  Bradford,  now  joined  the  boys  on  the 
river-bank. 

"No, "replied  David.  "How  does  it  happen  that  the 
Indians  own  such  good  houses?" 

"I  'm  told,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "that  this  was  a  Russian 
post  before  the  United  States  bought  Alaska  in  1867. 
The  Russian  traders  built  the  houses ;  and  when  the  ter- 


70       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

ritory  was  sold,  they  moved  out  and  the  Chilkats  moved 
in.  And  not  only  are  the  Indians  well  housed,  but, 
through  the  influence  of  the  traders  and  missionaries, 
they  have  adopted  the  dress  and,  to  a  large  extent,  the 
manners  of  civilization.  One  of  them  even  owns  a  horse 
and  cart,  which  he  drives  across  the  flats,  carrying  on  a 
kind  of  express  business  between  Old  Village  —  which 
is  the  meaning  of  the  Indian  word  '  Klukwan '  —  and 
Pyramid  Harbor." 

Roly  had  been  staring  at  a  curious  figure  directly  oppo 
site.  It  appeared  to  represent  the  head  and  fore-legs  of 
a  frog,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  black  paint,  the  whole 
being  portrayed  upon  several  upright  boards  which  stood 
side  by  side. 

"What  in  the  world  is  that  thing?"  he  asked,  when 
his  uncle  had  finished.  "It  reminds  me  of  the  African 
dodger  at  the  circus  last  summer.  A  colored  man  put 
his  head  through  a  hole  in  a  sheet,  and  if  you  hit  him 
you  got  a  cigar,  —  and  .1  did  hit  him,  but  the  proprietor 
said  I  was  too  small  to  smoke,  so  he  gave  me  a  stick  of 
candy. " 

The  others  laughed,  and  David  proposed  that  Roly 
should  throw  a  snowball  at  the  frog,  and  see  what  he 
would  get. 

"That  would  hardly  do,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "even  if 
he  could  throw  so  far,  for  this  is  no  African  dodger, 
but  a  totem-figure,  similar  to  those  on  the  totem-poles. 


KLUKWAN  AND   THE  FORDS  71 

The  ashes  of  some  Indian  of  the  family  which  has  the 
frog  as  its  symbol  are  entombed  in  a  little  house  behind 
those  boards,  and  Roly  would  be  more  likely  to  get  a 
bullet  than  a  stick  of  candy  if  he  injured  that  image." 

On  turning  back  from  the  river-bank,  they  found  Long 
Peter  looking  intently  at  a  group  of  people  a  short  dis 
tance  to  the  north. 

"White  people — two  men — two  women!"  he  ex 
claimed,  as  they  approached. 

"Women?"  repeated  Mr.  Bradford,  incredulously; 
"this  is  a  queer  place  for  white  women." 

"So  it  is,"  said  Uncle  Will.  "They  must  have  come 
from  that  disabled  steamer,  bound  for  Copper  River, 
which  landed  her  passengers  at  Pyramid  Harbor  a  fort 
night  ago.  I  met  a  few  of  her  people  on  this  trail  when 
I  came  out  to  the  coast,  but  did  n't  see  this  party.  They 
must  have  camped  off  the  regular  trail,  and  have  evi 
dently  travelled  very  slowly.  I  think  they  are  on  this 
side  of  the  Salmon  River,  which  empties  into  the  Chilkat 
opposite  the  north  end  of  the  village." 

Uncle  Will's  theory  proved  the  true  one.  The  Brad- 
fords,  having  made  everything  ready  for  the  day's  march, 
soon  covered  the  short  distance  which  separated  them 
from  the  party  ahead,  which  consisted  of  two  young 
men,  a  tall  and  rather  slender  young  woman,  and  a 
matronly  person  whom  they  at  first  supposed  to  be  the 
mother  of  the  others.  After  pleasantly  greeting  the 


72       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

new-comers,  however,  and  noting  their  expression  of  sur 
prise  and  interest,  the  elder  woman  took  it  upon  herself 
to  offer  an  explanation. 

"I  don't  wonder,  gentlemen,"  said  she,  "that  you  are 
surprised  to  see  ladies  in  such  a  place  as  this,  though 
I  do  not  doubt  there  are  many  on  the  more  frequented 
trails.  We  were  bound  for  Copper  River;  but  our  steamer 
proved  unseaworthy,  and  was  obliged  to  land  her  passen 
gers  at  Pyramid  Harbor.  There  were  rumors  of  gold  on 
this  trail,  so  we  determined  to  reach  the  spot  if  possible." 

"I  admire  your  pluck,  madam,"  said  Uncle  Will,  gal 
lantly. 

"But  was  n't  it  a  rather  rash  undertaking?"  suggested 
Mr.  Bradford. 

"Yes,  I  admit  it  was.  In  fact,  we  didn't  let  our 
friends  and  neighbors  back  in  Ohio  know  what  we  in 
tended;  because  if  we  had,  and  then  failed,  we  should 
be  the  laughing-stock  of  our  town.  All  our  friends 
thought  we  were  making  a  pleasure  trip  to  the  Pacific 
coast." 

"Well,  well!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bradford.  "And  this 
is  a  family  party,  then?"  and  he  wondered  what  his  wife 
would  think  of  making  such  a  trip. 

"Yes,  practically  so.  I  am  Mrs.  Shirley.  These  are 
my  nephews  and  my  niece." 

"And  we  are  all  Bradfords,  except  the  Indian,"  said 
Mr.  Bradford,  in  return  for  this  information. 


KLUKWAN  AND   THE  FORDS  73 

"But  how  in  the  world  do  you  manage  to  move  your 
supplies  with  only  two  men  and  no  Indians  or  dogs?" 
asked  Uncle  Will. 

"Oh,  my  niece  and  I  help  with  the  sleds.  We  have 
to  make  a  good  many  trips,  though,  over  the  same 
ground,  for  we  have  a  year's  provisions  with  us.  It  is 
very  slow  work,  especially  since  one  of  the  boys  is  quite 
disabled.  He  cut  his  foot  badly  with  an  axe  a  few  days 
ago." 

Uncle  Will  looked  at  the  bandaged  foot,  and  asked 
if  it  had  been  properly  cared  for. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  young  man,  "thanks  to  my  aunt." 

"Very  fortunately,"  said  that  lady,  "I  am  a  physician, 
and  so  was  able  to  dress  the  wound.  There  was  a  medi 
cal  man  with  a  large  party  which  recently  passed,  who 
offered  his  services,  but  they  were  not  needed." 

"And  how  do  you  expect  to  cross  this  wide  river?" 
asked  Mr.  Bradford. 

"  Oh,  my  uninjured  nephew  has  been  carrying  the  goods 
over  piece-meal.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  time  and  per 
severance.  Three  days  ago,  we  had  stopped  at  the  first 
of  those  shallow  streams  which  you  must  have  passed 
yesterday,  when  we  were  overtaken  by  that  numerous 
company  of  white  men  and  Indians.  They  made  light 
work  of  the  fording,  carrying  their  sleds  over  bodily, 
loads  and  all,  as  many  men  taking  hold  as  could  find 
room;  and  when  their  own  loads  were  across,  they  gen- 


74       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

erously  came  back  for  ours.  Finally  a  big,  strong  man 
whom  they  called  Paul,  took  my  niece,  my  injured 
nephew,  and  myself  over  on  his  back,  one  after  another, 
—  and  they  did  the  same  thing  for  us  at  the  other  streams 
that  day ;  but  before  we  reached  this  river  they  were  out 
of  sight." 

"Well,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "we  mustn't  let  them  outdo 
us.  It 's  surely  our  turn  now,  and  we  shall  be  very  glad 
to  help  you,  madam." 

"Thank  you,"  replied  Mrs.  Shirley,  gratefully.  "I 
am  very  unwilling  to  cause  you  extra  labor  and  delay, 
but  in  our  present  unfortunate  situation  I  can  not  refuse 
assistance." 

Preparations  were  at  once  begun  for  crossing  Salmon 
River.  The  Bradfords  took  from  each  of  their  long  sleds 
half  its  load.  Then  Long  Peter,  facing  forward,  firmly 
grasped  the  front  of  his  sled,  while  Mr.  Bradford  and 
Uncle  Will,  one  on  each  side,  held  to  the  ends  of  a 
shovel  thrust  under  the  forward  part  above  the  runners. 
David  and  Roly  took  the  ends  of  another  shovel  similarly 
placed  under  the  rear  end,  and  the  only  able-bodied  man 
of  the  other  party,  who  insisted  on  doing  his  share, 
grasped  the  sled  from  behind.  In  this  manner  they  lifted 
their  load,  and  started  down  the  snowy  bank  into  the 
water,  which  was  shallow  at  first,  but  grew  deeper  as 
they  neared  the  opposite  shore.  It  was  quite  necessary 
that  all  should  keep  step,  but  as  they  entered  the  deeper 


KLUKWAN  AND   THE  FORDS  75 

water  David  and  Holy  found  it  difficult  to  do  this,  for 
the  current  was  very  strong,  and  almost  forced  their  feet 
from  beneath  them.  The  icy  water  surged  and  bubbled 
higher  and  higher  against  their  rubber  boots,  —  a  fact 
which  the  boys  noticed  with  some  dismay.  At  length 
they  entered  the  lowest  part  of  the  channel,  where  the 
depth  of  the  stream  was  about  two  feet  and  a  half. 

"  There ! "  exclaimed  Roly,  ruefully,  as  he  took  a  step 
forward  and  braced  himself  as  well  as  he  could  against 
the  current,  "the  water  came  into  my  boots  that  time. 
There  it  goes  again.  O-o-h!  but  it's  cold." 

"Are  n't  you  glad  you  came?  "  said  David,  provokingly. 

"Y-yes,"  stoutly  stammered  Roly,  who  saw  that  his 
brother  was  also  wet,  and  resolved  that  he,  too,  would 
make  light  of  the  wetting.  "But  I  didn't  expect  ice- 
water  bathing." 

A  moment  more  and  they  were  out  of  the  river  and 
up  on  the  further  bank,  where  they  set  down  the  sled 
and  paused  to  recover  their  breath.  The  men,  being 
taller  and  wearing  higher  boots,  had  escaped  dry-shod, 
but  the  boys  felt  anything  but  comfortable. 

"Never  mind  the  water,  boys,"  said  Uncle  Will,  cheer 
fully.  "It  won't  hurt  you  to  get  wet  in  this  country. 
Pour  the  water  out  of  your  boots,  if  there  's  much  in 
them,  for  you  needn't  go  back  again.  Just  stay  right 
here  and  load  up  the  sleds  as  fast  as  we  bring  them  over." 

The  men  swished  back  through  the  water,  carrying  the 


76       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

empty  sled  for  the  other  half  of  its  load.  In  half  an  hour 
all  the  supplies  of  both  parties  had  been  brought  across. 

"Now,  Mrs.  Shirley,"  said  Uncle  Will,  with  a  smile, 
"  have  you  any  preference  as  to  the  manner  of  transporta 
tion?  I  trust  I  'm  as  strong  as  the  kind-hearted  Paul." 

"I've  no  doubt  of  that,"  replied  Mrs.  Shirley,  with  a 
slight  trace  of  embarrassment.  "But  really,  if  another 
way  could  be  found,  I  should  prefer  it.  You  have  an 
unloaded  sled  on  the  other  side,  —  could  you  not  take 
us  over  on  that?" 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "we  can." 

The  sled  was  promptly  sent  for,  and  upon  its  arrival 
Mrs.  Shirley  requested  her  niece  to  go  first.  The  young 
woman  accordingly  seated  herself  upon  it,  grasped  the 
sides  firmly,  and  was  borne  lightly  over  the  river  by  the 
four  men.  Her  brother  went  next,  and  finally  her  aunt. 

The  two  parties  remained  together  all  that  day,  as 
there  were  other  channels  to  be  crossed,  and  a  few  miles 
farther  a  second  great  river,  the  Klaheena,  also  flowing 
into  the  Chilkat  from  the  west.  It  was  nightfall  before 
the  fording  was  completed  and  the  way  lay  clear  before 
them. 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT   AT   PLEASANT   CAMP     77 


CHAPTER   X 

A  POKCTJPINE-HTJNT   AT  PLEASANT  CAMP 

AS  the  Bradfords  were  able  to  travel  more  rapidly 
than    Mrs.    Shirley   and    her    companions,    the 
two  parties    separated   on   the   following    day. 
The  trail  turned  to  the  west,  ascending  the  gradual  in 
cline   of   the   Klaheena   River  valley  —  a   valley  similar 
in  character  to  that  of   the   Chilkat  —  to  a  point  called 
Pleasant  Camp. 

Although  the  distance  from  Klukwan  to  Pleasant  Camp 
was  about  the  same  as  that  from  Pyramid  Harbor  to 
Klukwan,  they  were  five  days  in  covering  it,  since  for 
much  of  the  way  the  snow  was  soft,  and  progress  cor 
respondingly  difficult.  There  was  no  more  ice  to  travel 
upon,  and  the  snow-crust  would  not  bear  them  during 
the  warmer  part  of  the  day.  In  fact,  they  could  seldom 
walk  upon  it  at  all  without  their  snow-shoes,  the  use 
of  which  the  boys  learned  after  a  few  hours'  practice,  — 
not,  however,  without  some  of  those  gymnastic  perform 
ances  predicted  by  the  genial  Mr.  Kingsley. 

They  crossed  one  wide  but  shallow  stream  by  throw 
ing  brush  into  the  water,  which  raised  the  sleds  enough 
to  keep  the  loads  dry.  At  another  point  a  considerable 


78       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

delay  was  caused  by  a  steep  hill  which  the  trail  mounted 
at  one  side  of  the  valley  in  order  to  avoid  a  difficult 
ford.  Uncle  Will  pointed  out  a  tree  at  the  top  of  this 
hill,  the  bark  of  which  was  worn  off  in  a  circle  a  few 
feet  above  the  ground,  remarking  that  the  Mysterious 
Thirty-six  had  evidently  rigged  a  block  and  tackle  there, 
and  drawn  up  their  sleds  by  a  long  rope.  After  follow 
ing  a  rough,  wooded  ridge  for  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a 
mile,  the  trail  led  down  again  to  the  river  flats. 

Each  day  brought  them  nearer  the  great  range  of  snowy 
mountains,  at  the  foot  of  which  lay  Pleasant  Camp. 
There  they  would  turn  to  the  right  and  cross  the  moun 
tains,  which  were  in  British  territory,  by  the  Chilkat 
Pass.  The  boys  thought  they  had  never  seen  a  more 
beautiful  valley  than  that  of  the  Klaheena.  In  every 
direction  were  glistening  peaks,  their  bases  clothed  with 
green  spruce  forests,  which  here  and  there  spread  out 
over  the  levels  near  the  river,  where  they  showed  a 
sprinkling  of  bare-boughed  poplars,  willows,  and  alders. 

At  one  of  their  camps,  where  a  small  stream  known  as 
Boulder  Creek  flowed  into  the  Klaheena  from  the  north, 
the  weather  turned  suddenly  cold,  with  a  bitter  wind 
which  the  huge  camp-fire  hardly  tempered.  It  was  so 
cold  in  the  tent  that  the  boys  slept  in  their  Mackinaw 
coats,  which  usually  they  removed  and  rolled  up  for 
pillows.  Nestling  deep  down  into  the  blankets,  they 
were  warm  enough,  except  when  one  or  the  other  turned 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT  AT  PLEASANT  CAMP      79 

over,  disturbing  the  coverlets,  and  drawing  a  blast  of 
cold  air  over  their  necks  and  shoulders.  They  did  not 
take  the  precaution  to  pull  their  caps  over  their  ears, 
relying  on  the  protection  of  the  blankets,  but  unfortu 
nately,  while  they  slept,  their  heads  became  entirely  un 
covered.  Both  boys  found  their  ears  slightly  frost-bitten 
and  very  painful  in  the  morning. 

When  they  attempted  to  draw  on  their  shoe-packs, 
which  had  been  left  outside  the  tent,  the  leather  tops 
and  lacings  were  frozen  so  stiffly  that  it  was  necessary 
to  thaw  them  out  before  a  fire.  Mr.  Bradford's  pocket 
thermometer  registered  three  degrees  below  zero  when 
they  crept  out  into  the  crisp  morning  air  and  with  numb 
fingers  took  down  the  tents  and  made  ready  the  sleds. 

"This  is  about  as  chilly  as  we  shall  have  it,"  said 
Uncle  Will,  as  he  deftly  turned  the  bacon  in  the  frying- 
pan;  "and  it's  nothing  to  what  I  had  on  my  first  trip 
in.  Fifty  below  is  a  nice  bit  colder  than  three.  It 's 
too  late  in  the  season  for  any  more  of  that,  and  I  'm  not 
sorry.  We  shall  be  unlucky  though,  if  we  don't  reach 
the  Alsek  River  before  the  ice  breaks  up,  for  cross-coun 
try  travelling  in  that  region  is  a  hard  proposition." 

"How  far  away  is  the  Alsek?"  asked  David. 

"About  thirty  miles  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pass." 

"  And  where  do  you  suppose  the  mysterious  gentlemen 
are  now?" 

"Oh,  they  are  doubtless  working  up  toward  the  sum- 


80       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

mit.  If  they  cross  first,  we  can  hardly  hope  to  catch 
them,  for  I  have  no  doubt  the  Alsek  ice  is  firm  yet,  and 
on  that  they  can  move  as  fast  as  we  can." 

"Why  is  it  we  haven't  overtaken  them?"  inquired 
Roly. 

"I  suspect  they  don't  stop  on  Sundays  as  we  have." 

"Then  it's  not  a  fair  race,"  said  Holy.  "They  have 
an  advantage  over  us." 

"Only  an  apparent  one,"  observed  Mr.  Bradford. 
"They  are  likely  to  wear  themselves  out  with  such 
unremitting  labor.  We  shall  see." 

Two  days  later  Pleasant  Camp  was  reached,  and  the 
sleds  were  drawn  up  from  the  river  flats  to  the  top  of  a 
low  plateau  covered  with  a  fine  forest,  mostly  of  spruce. 
To  the  west  and  north  rose  the  massive  white  summits 
of  the  Coast  Range,  like  giants  guarding  the  gateways 
to  the  interior. 

A  small  party  of  Indians  who  had  camped  there  were 
about  to  leave  when  the  Bradfords  arrived.  Their  house 
hold  goods,  consisting  of  blankets,  kettles,  pans,  dried 
salmon,  and  a  gun  or  two,  were  packed  upon  sleds, 
several  of  which  were  drawn  by  small,  weak-looking 
dogs.  There  was  one  very  old  Indian  who  drew  a  light 
load  upon  a  sled,  while  his  wife,  who  was  younger  and 
stronger,  bore  a  considerable  burden  upon  her  back.  Her 
face  was  blackened  to  protect  the  skin  from  the  blister 
ing  glare  of  sun  and  snow.  The  only  other  woman  in 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT  AT  PLEASANT   CAMP      81 

the  party  carried  on  her  back  a  baby  warmly  rolled  in  a 
blanket.  She  wore  a  sort  of  hood,  a  skirt  which  reached 
to  the  knees,  and  deer-skin  leggings  and  moccasins,  and 
travelled  easily  over  the  drifts  on  light,  narrow  snow- 
shoes  of  native  manufacture. 

When  these  Indians  had  disappeared  up  the  mountain 
trail,  Long  Peter,  who  had  cast  admiring  glances  at 
David's  rifle  and  Roly's  shot-gun  whenever  the  boys 
had  removed  them  from  their  cases,  came  forward  with 
a  tempting  proposal. 

"You  come  with  me,"  said  he  to  the  boys.  "Plenty 
pore 'pine  here.  Take  guns  and  snow-shoes.  Porc'pine 
much  good." 

The  boys  were  on  their  feet  in  an  instant  at  the  pros 
pect  of  a  porcupine-hunt.  At  last  they  were  to  have  an 
opportunity  to  test  their  new  weapons.  But  first  they 
must  obtain  permission  to  go. 

"Aren't  you  too  tired?"  asked  Mr.  Bradford,  when 
they  bore  down  upon  that  gentleman. 

"Oh,  no!  "  shouted  both  together. 

"Well  then,  you  may  go;  but  I  think  I  '11  go  with  you. 
I  've  no  doubt  you  've  listened  very  carefully  to  all  my 
instructions,  but  you  '11  be  pretty  sure  to  be  absent-minded 
in  the  excitement  of  the  hunt.  Do  you  remember  the  first 
rule,  David?" 

"Yes,"  said  David.  "Never  point  a  gun,  loaded  or 
unloaded,  at  yourself  or  any  one  else." 


82       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

"Correct,"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "What  was  the  second 
rule,  Holy?" 

"  Never  leave  a  loaded  gun  where  it  can  fall  down,  or 
be  thrown  down,  or  disturbed  in  any  way." 

"Right  again.  It  was  a  violation  of  that  rule  which 
caused  Lucky  to  be  shot  at  Klukshu  Lake,  as  your  uncle 
told  us.  Now,  David,  the  third  rule." 

"Unload  the  gun  before  climbing  over  fences,  walls, 
and  fallen  trees,  or  entering  thickets,  or  rough  or  slippery 
ground." 

"Good,"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "That  is  a  rule  which 
is  often  disregarded,  and  neglect  of  it  has  caused  many 
accidents.  You  won't  find  any  fences  here,  but  there 
will  be  plenty  of  rough  ground  and  fallen  timber.  The 
fourth  rule,  Roly." 

"Let  me  see,"  said  Roly,  biting  his  lip  with  vexation 
as  he  tried  in  vain  to  recall  it.  "  Oh,  yes !  I  remember 
it  now.  Wherever  possible,  keep  the  hammers  at  half- 
cock." 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "if  you  will  bear  those 
few  rules  in  mind,  you  need  not  trouble  yourselves  about 
any  others  at  present.  Get  your  snow-shoes  and  guns  and 
a  few  cartridges,  and  I  '11  be  ready  when  you  are." 

The  boys  started  off  with  high  anticipations  a  few 
minutes  later,  led  by  the  Indian,  and  followed  by  their 
father.  They  all  wore  snow-shoes,  for  in  the  forest  back 
of  the  camp,  where  the  snow  had  not  alternately  frozen 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT  AT  PLEASANT   CAMP     83 

and  thawed  as  it  had  in  the  open  valley,  there  was  very 
little  crust  over  the  deep  drifts.  They  wound  in  and 
out  among  the  spruces,  the  Indian  carefully  examining 
the  snow  for  tracks  as  he  shuffled  lightly  along  at  a  pace 
which  the  others  could  keep  only  with  the  greatest  exer 
tion,  for  their  snow-shoes  were  heavier  and  wider  than 
his,  and  they  were  not  yet  skilled.  They  had  not  gone 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  when  Long  Peter  paused  at  a  fresh 
track  which  crossed  their  course  at  right  angles,  and  led 
toward  a  little  gully  where  there  were  several  young 
spruce-trees  with  thick  branches. 

"Good,"  said  he,  and  immediately  started  on  the  ani 
mal's  trail. 

Roly  became  excited  at  once,  and  in  swerving  to  the 
left  to  follow  the  Indian,  he  forgot  to  manage  his  snow- 
shoes  with  the  care  that  is  necessary,  stepping  upon  his 
left  snow-shoe  with  the  right  one,  so  that  he  could  not 
raise  the  left  foot  for  the  next  step.  In  an  instant,  car 
ried  forward  by  his  own  momentum,  he  plunged  head 
first  into  the  soft,  white,  yielding  drift,  which  closed  over 
his  head  and  shoulders. 

David,  who  was  close  behind,  struggled  in  vain  to 
choke  a  peal  of  laughter,  and  was  thankful  that  Roly 
was  not  likely  to  hear  it  with  his  head  in  the  snow. 
Long  Peter,  who  had  no  scruples,  laughed  long  after 
Roly  had  emerged.  They  all  rushed  to  aid  the  strug 
gling  youngster,  who  was  so  hampered  by  the  big  shoes 


84       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

that  there  seemed  no  possibility  of  his  regaining  his  feet 
until  they  were  disencumbered.  David,  after  warning 
his  brother  not  to  kick,  quickly  loosened  the  moose-hide 
thongs  and  removed  the  snow-shoes,  which  done,  the 
fallen  youth  picked  himself  up,  and  brushed  the  snow 
out  of  his  eyes,  mouth,  and  neck. 

"Whew!"  he  sputtered;  "how  did  I  happen  to  do 
that?" 

"You  turned  the  corner  with  the  wrong  foot,"  said  his 
father.  "  Where  's  your  gun  ?  " 

The  gun  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  until  Long  Peter 
fished  it  up  out  of  the  snow,  where  it  had  fallen  under 
neath  its  owner. 

"Is  it  loaded?"  asked  Mr.  Bradford. 

Roly  thanked  his  stars  that  he  could  answer  "No," 
and  added,  "I  took  this  to  be  rough  ground." 

"  You  were  right,  Roly, "  said  his  father,  much  pleased. 
"  There  was  no  need  to  carry  a  loaded  gun  here,  for  you 
always  have  plenty  of  time  in  shooting  at  this  kind  of 
game.  You  can  readily  see  what  kind  of  an  accident 
might  have  happened.  Now  wipe  off  the  gun  as  well 
as  you  can,  and  let's  see  where  this  track  leads." 

They  passed  down  into  the  gully,  where  many  of  the 
trees  had  been  stripped  of  their  bark  and  killed  by 
the  little  animals.  After  following  it  a  few  rods,  they 
turned  up  the  farther  bank,  where  the  Indian  paused  at 
the  foot  of  a  dense  spruce.  All  about  the  base  of  the 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT  AT  PLEASANT   CAMP     85 

tree  were  the  porcupine  tracks,  but  they  did  not  appear 
beyond. 

"Porc'pine  here,"  said  the  red  man,  circling  around 
the  tree  and  gazing  intently  into  its  bushy  top.  A 
moment  later  he  exclaimed,  "I  see  him!  You,  Dave, 
bring  rifle  here." 

David  slipped  a  cartridge  into  his  gun,  and  looked 
where  the  Indian  pointed.  He  could  see  a  dark  body 
close  to  the  tree-trunk  among  the  upper  branches.  As 
he  raised  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  he  was  surprised  to 
find  himself  trembling  violently. 

"  Well,  well,  Dave !  "  exclaimed  his  father,  noticing 
his  nervousness,  "  you  ' ve  got  the  buck  fever  over  a  por 
cupine,  sure  enough.  Hadn't  you  better  let  me  shoot 
him?" 

"Oh,  no!  I'm  all  right,"  said  David,  bracing  up 
mentally  if  not  physically,  and  pulling  the  trigger. 

A  few  spruce  needles  and  twigs  rattled  down  as  the 
shot  rang  out,  but  the  porcupine  was  apparently  un 
scathed. 

"No  good,"  said  Long  Peter.     "You  no  hit  him." 

"You  fired  too  high,"  observed  Mr.  Bradford,  "and 
you  shut  your  eyes.  Keep  at  least  one  eye  open,  and 
be  sure  it 's  the  one  you  sight  with.  Aim  low  and  don't 
jerk." 

Roly  petitioned  to  be  allowed  the  second  shot;  but  his 
father,  seeing  that  David  was  much  chagrined,  ruled 


86       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

that  he  should  have  another  chance.  Carefully  observ 
ing  directions,  David  fared  better  at  the  second  trial. 
Through  the  smoke  as  he  fired,  he  saw  the  porcupine 
come  tumbling  heavily  down  from  branch  to  branch  till 
it  dropped  into  the  snow  and  lay  there  motionless.  It 
was  quite  dead,  and  Long  Peter,  with  a  grunt  of  satis 
faction,  took  it  up  gingerly  by  the  feet,  taking  care  not 
to  be  pricked  by  the  sharp  quills  which  bristled  all  over 
the  animal's  back. 

"  Hurrah ! "  cried  Roly,  "  now  we  shall  have  fresh 
meat." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "a  porcupine  stew  will  be 
a  welcome  change  from  bacon,  —  but  we  ought  to  get 
one  more  at  least.  Long  Peter  here  could  eat  the  whole 
of  this  at  one  sitting  without  any  trouble  at  all,  eh, 
Peter?" 

The  Indian  smacked  his  lips,  and  his  eyes  glistened, 
for  the  prickly  little  animals  are  considered  such  a  deli 
cacy  by  the  natives,  that  they  will  gorge  themselves  even 
to  sickness  when  they  have  the  opportunity. 

A  second  porcupine  was  treed  not  far  from  the  first. 
Roly  brought  it  down  at  the  first  shot,  —  a  feat  which 
would  certainly  have  puffed  him  with  pride,  had  he 
not  retained  a  vivid  remembrance  of  his  late  inglorious 
downfall. 

They  returned  to  camp  in  triumph,  and  found  supper 
waiting.  The  porcupines  were  thrown  into  the  fire,  that 


A  PORCUPINE-HUNT  AT  PLEASANT   CAMP      87 

the  quills  might  burn  away,  Uncle  Will  remarking  that 
such  chickens  needed  a  great  deal  of  singeing.  Long 
Peter  prepared  them  for  the  stew,  and  they  were  served 
up  in  fine  style  on  the  following  morning,  with  rice 
and  soup  vegetables.  The  meat  had  a  distinct  flavor 
of  spruce  bark,  the  food  of  the  animal;  but  it  was  not 
at  all  disagreeable,  and  the  stew  was  voted  an  unquali 
fied  success. 


88       GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE  MYSTERIOUS  THIKTY-SIX 

FOR  nearly  a  week,  the  little  party  struggled  with 
the  most  difficult  portion  of  the  trail.  At  Pleas 
ant  Camp  they  had  reached  an  elevation  of  about 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  but  the  rise  had  been 
so  gradual  through  the  forty-five  miles  of  river  valleys 
that  it  had  hardly  been  noticed.  From  that  point,  how 
ever,  it  was  all  mountain  work,  and  they  had  to  ascend 
three  thousand  feet  more  in  about  fifteen  miles,  to  gain 
the  summit  of  the  Chilkat  Pass  and  the  high  interior 
plateau.  The  trail  often  led  uphill  only  to  lead  pro- 
vokingly  down  again  on  the  other  side,  so  that  the  gain 
was  thrown  away,  and  had  to  be  earned  all  over  again. 
Then,  too,  the  snowdrifts  increased  the  roughness  of 
the  path.  It  was  out  of  the  question  to  move  full  loads 
under  such  conditions,  and  half-loads  were  taken  forward 
a  few  miles  and  cached  one  day,  and  the  remainder 
brought  up  the  next.  Some  of  the  slopes  were  so  steep 
that  even  the  ice-creepers  barely  gave  the  sled-pullers  a 
foothold,  and  often  the  sheer  weight  of  the  loads  dragged 
them  back  again  and  again. 


A  CURIOUS  PHENOMENON  BESIDE  THE  TRAIL 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   THIRTY-SIX  89 

Under  this  terrible  strain  their  feet  grew  sore,  and  the 
frequent  dipping  of  the  gee-poles,  as  the  sleds  dove  into 
the  hollows,  gave  them  cruelly  lame  backs.  To  make 
matters  worse,  the  tugging  on  the  ropes,  coupled  with 
the  usual  dampness  of  their  mittens,  caused  the  skin  of 
their  fingers  to  crack  deeply  and  painfully  at  the  joints. 
Many  times  the  sleds  overturned,  or  jammed  against 
stumps  and  roots.  Altogether  it  was  a  severe  and  thor 
ough  training  for  the  boys  in  patience,  endurance,  and 
perseverance. 

"What  will  become  of  Mrs.  Shirley's  party  here,  I 
wonder,"  said  Roly,  after  a  hard  day's  work. 

"If  they  are  wise,"  replied  Uncle  Will,  "they'll  stop 
at  Pleasant  Camp.  The  two  young  men  can  make  a 
dash  in  for  claims  when  the  lame  one  has  recovered,  but 
those  ladies  can  never  stand  this  kind  of  work." 

David  declared  that  never  before  had  he  appreciated 
the  picture  in  his  room  at  home,  of  Napoleon's  soldiers 
dragging  cannon  over  the  Alps.  He  was  quite  sure  he 
would  groan  with  genuine  sympathy  when  he  saw  it 
again.  In  the  mean  time,  in  spite  of  all  discomforts,  he 
was  daily  securing  beautiful  and  interesting  views  of 
mountains  and  valleys,  of  camps  and  the  sledding,  and 
of  all  the  unique  phases  of  his  outdoor  life. 

At  one  point,  he  photographed  a  curious  phenomenon 
beside  the  trail.  The  stump  of  a  tree  bore  upon  its  top 
a  great  skull-shaped  mass  of  snow,  while  underneath  on 


90       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

every  side  the  flakes  had  been  packed  against  the  bark 
by  the  wind,  the  whole  forming  a  colossal  figure  of  a 
human  head  and  neck,  which  appeared  as  if  carved  in 
purest  marble. 

Now  and  then  they  observed  traces  of  the  company 
ahead.  Sometimes  it  was  a  broken  gee-pole,  again  a 
deserted  camping-ground  or  fireplace,  and  frequently 
bits  of  rope,  empty  cracker  boxes  and  tins,  or  a  freshly 
"  blazed  "  or  notched  tree  to  indicate  the  trail.  But  the 
Thirty-six  themselves  were  as  elusive  as  if  they  all 
wore  seven-league  boots,  and  the  Bradfords  never  caught 
sight  of  them  during  these  days,  no  matter  how  hard  they 
worked. 

In  the  forest  through  which  they  were  travelling,  spruce 
gum  of  fine  quality  could  be  picked  from  many  of  the 
trees,  and  the  boys  found  it  useful  as  a  preventive  of 
thirst  in  a  country  where  open  springs  were  far  between. 
Often,  too,  they  carried  beef  tablets  in  their  pockets, 
and  these  served  to  alleviate  hunger  as  well  as  thirst,  — 
for  so  severe  was  the  work,  and  so  stimulating  to  the 
appetite  the  mountain  air,  that  they  were  fairly  faint 
between  meals. 

Once,  while  on  the  march,  they  were  startled  by  a 
deep  rumbling,  which  seemed  to  come  from  the  bowels 
of  the  earth.  Uncle  Will  said  that  this  was  the  sound 
of  an  avalanche  on  the  high  mountains  across  the  Kla- 
heena  valley. 


THE  MYSTERIOUS   THIRTY-SIX  91 

Porcupines  were  so  numerous  as  to  be  obtainable  as 
often  as  needed,  but  Roly  one  day  discovered  a  new 
kind  of  game.  He  espied  a  large  dark  bird  sitting  on 
a  low  branch  of  a  spruce  near  the  trail,  and  called  Uncle 
Will's  attention  to  it. 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  the  latter,  "that's  a  spruce  par 
tridge,  and  very  good  eating.  Is  your  revolver  loaded, 
Charles?" 

The  guns  were  packed  in  their  cases  on  the  sleds,  but 
Mr.  Bradford's  revolver  was  loaded  and  ready.  He  took 
careful  aim  at  the  partridge  and  fired.  The  bird,  not 
thirty  feet  away,  merely  cocked  its  head  to  one  side,  and 
calmly  eyed  the  discomfited  marksman. 

"Missed,"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "Suppose  you  try  a 
shot,  Roly.  I  've  been  out  of  practice  too  long." 

"Yes,"  said  Roly,  "let  me  try.  But  why  didn't  the 
partridge  fly  away?  They  're  awfully  '  scary  '  at  home." 

"This  is  not  the  ruffed  grouse,  or  partridge,  of  New 
England,"  explained  his  father,  "but  a  different  species. 
It  is  often  called  the  'fool  hen,'  because  it  is  so  stupid. 
You  might  fire  a  dozen  times  without  inducing  it  to 
fly,  and  you  can  go  up  quite  close  to  it  if  you  wish. 
It 's  more  sportsmanlike,  though,  to  give  the  bird  a 
chance." 

Roly  accordingly  stood  where  he  was,  fired,  and  missed. 
Uncle  Will  then  brought  down  the  bird  with  his  revolver, 
and  later,  David  and  Roly  plucked  and  dressed  it,  with 


92       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

some  assistance  from  Long  Peter,  and  cooked  it  for  their 
supper. 

David  awoke,  one  morning,  to  find  his  younger  brother 
observing  him  with  a  curious  expression  in  his  eyes,  the 
cause  of  which  he  was  at  a  loss  to  discover. 

"What  in  the  world  is  the  matter  with  your  face, 
Dave?"  said  Roly,  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  his  tent-mate 
was  awake. 

"Matter  with  my  face?"  repeated  David,  sleepily. 
"Why,  nothing.  What  makes  you  think  so?" 

"You  don't  look  a  bit  natural,"  said  Roly. 

"  Oh,  come !  "  muttered  David.  "  What  are  you  talk 
ing  about?  I'm  all  right,  I  tell  you;"  and  he  gazed 
drowsily  up  at  the  canvas  above  him,  through  which  the 
morning  light  filtered. 

"  Oh !  you  are,  are  you  ?  "  said  Roly.  "  Well,  I  advise 
you  to  look  in  a  mirror  before  you  go  outside,  that 's  all." 

But  David  neglected  the  warning.  His  appearance, 
when  he  crawled  forth  from  the  tent,  was  the  signal  for 
a  loud  burst  of  laughter  from  Long  Peter,  who  was  mak 
ing  the  fire,  and  this,  more  than  anything  else,  con 
vinced  the  boy  that  something  was  really  wrong.  He 
retreated  into  the  tent  and  consulted  a  small  pocket 
looking-glass,  whereby  he  discovered  that  his  counte 
nance  was  as  black  as  the  ace  of  spades. 

"April  Fool!"  shouted  the  irrepressible  Roly,  with 
great  glee,  and  dived  head-first  out  of  the  tent  to  escape 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   THIRTY-SIX  93 

a  flying  shoe.  "My  dear  brother,  permit  me  to  inform 
you  that  this  is  the  First  of  April."  This  last  explana 
tory  speech  was  delivered  with  telling  effect  from  a  safe 
distance. 

David  was  at  first  much  vexed,  but  having  washed  his 
face,  he  joined  at  last  in  the  laugh  against  himself. 

Taking  the  idea  from  the  blackened  faces  of  the  In 
dian  women,  Roly  had  carefully  gone  over  his  sleeping 
brother's  face  with  soot  from  the  bottom  of  a  kettle.  The 
youngster  confessed,  however,  that,  owing  to  anxiety  lest 
David  should  awaken  first,  his  fun  had  cost  him  half 
his  night's  sleep.  It  brought  upon  him,  too,  some  words 
of  counsel  from  his  father,  who  reminded  him  that  prac 
tical  joking  often  provoked  serious  ill-feeling,  and  it  was 
only  owing  to  David's  good  sense  that  it  had  not  done 
so  in  the  present  instance. 

That  day's  march  was  a  short  one.  Early  in  the  after 
noon  they  saw  a  thin  blue  column  of  smoke  rising  through 
the  trees  ahead,  and  a  few  minutes  later,  to  their  un 
bounded  delight,  they  entered  the  camp  of  the  Mysterious 
Thirty-six,  whose  tents  were  scattered  through  the  grove 
wherever  the  snow  was  level,  or  a  tree  or  bank  afforded 
shelter.  Such  members  of  the  company  as  they  saw 
greeted  them  pleasantly,  and  congratulated  Uncle  Will 
on  making  so  rapid  a  journey.  They  could  far  better 
afford  to  be  distanced  by  the  small  Bradford  party  than 
the  Bradfords  by  them,  and  showed  no  trace  of  ill-humor. 


94       GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

Uncle  Will  declared,  however,  as  the  Bradfords  were 
pitching  their  camp  in  the  edge  of  the  timber,  that  it 
was  too  early  to  crow  yet. 

"What  place  is  this?"  asked  Roly,  as  he  fetched  a 
kettleful  of  water  from  the  one  open  spot  in  a  brook 
everywhere  else  buried  deep  under  the  snow. 

Uncle  Will  hung  the  kettle  over  the  fire  and  answered, 
"Rainy  Hollow." 

"Ah!  "  exclaimed  the  boy,  with  sudden  recollection, 
"this  is  where  you  wrote  your  letter." 

"Yes,"  said  his  uncle,  "and  the  place  was  well  named. 
It  storms  here  most  of  the  time,  consequently  the  cross 
ing  of  the  summit  is  usually  difficult  and  often  quite 
dangerous.  We  are  close  to  the  summit  now,  and  this 
is  the  last  of  the  timber." 

"And  how  far  is  it  across  the  summit?" 

"About  twenty  miles  to  the  timber  on  the  other  side." 

After  supper  the  boys  paid  a  visit  to  the  large  camp, 
having  a  desire  to  see  how  the  Mysterious  Thirty-six 
looked  and  lived.  As  they  entered  the  camp  the  familiar 
"  Muck-muck  "  was  shouted  from  the  entrance  of  a  large 
cooking-tent  by  a  jolly,  red-faced  man,  whose  general 
appearance,  together  with  a  big  spoon  which  he  waved 
dramatically  above  a  kettle  of  beans,  indicated  that  he 
was  the  cook.  The  call  was  taken  up  in  various  direc 
tions,  and  repeated  to  the  farthest  tents,  and  presently 
white  men  and  Indians  appeared  from  every  side  and 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   THIRTY-SIX  95 

took  their  places  indiscriminately  in  a  line  before  the 
tent.  Each  carried  an  aluminum  plate  and  cup,  with 
knife,  fork,  and  spoon.  As  fast  as  they  were  served,  the 
men  either  seated  themselves  on  logs  and  boxes,  or  stood 
in  groups,  eating  their  beans,  bacon,  and  biscuits,  and 
drinking  their  hot  tea  with  great  relish.  The  boys  saw 
several  sly  young  Indians  finish  their  rations  almost  at 
a  gulp,  lick  their  plates  clean,  and  immediately  re-enter 
the  line,  by  which  trick  they  received  a  double  portion, 
the  cook  being  evidently  unable  to  distinguish  them  from 
new-comers. 

When  all  had  been  served,  a  white  man  approached  the 
tent  and  asked,  "Do  we  get  a  second  helping  to-night, 
Jack?  I'm  as  hungry  as  I  was  before.  Appetite  's  just 
getting  whetted." 

"  No,  Si,  my  boy,  there 's  nothing  left.  Only  one 
round, — that's  the  orders  to-night." 

"H-m,"  said  Si.  "I'll  bet  those  Indians  didn't  go 
hungry,  though.  I  saw  one  of  'em  go  back  into  the 
line." 

"Well,"  said  the  cook,  "the  Cap'n  will  have  to  see  to 
it,  then.  I  can't  watch  'em  all." 

"I  suppose  not,"  said  Si.  "It's  a  shame,  though." 
He  looked  around  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  leader  was 
not  within  hearing.  "I'd  have  pitched  that  Indian  into 
a  snowbank  if  it  was  n't  directly  against  orders.  The 
Cap'n  says  we  're  to  have  no  rows  with  the  redskins,  or 


96       GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

they  '11  leave  us,  so  we  've  got  to  be  sweet  an'  nice  to 
the  rascals.  By  the  way,  Jack,  has  anybody  spoken  for 
that  kettle?" 

"You're  first  on  that,"  replied  the  cook,  handing  out 
one  of  the  bean  kettles,  in  the  bottom  of  which  clung 
some  half -burned  scrapings.  "Get  all  the  satisfaction 
you  can  out  of  it,  old  man." 

"Trust  me  for  that,"  said  Si,  calling  to  a  friend  to 
come  and  share  his  prize. 

Several  others  came  up  to  ask  for  a  second  helping, 
but  they  were  disappointed,  —  all  except  the  one  who 
followed  Si.  He  received  the  other  bean  kettle. 

"I  'm  glad  we  don't  have  to  figure  so  closely,"  said 
David.  "It  must  be  pretty  tough  to  go  to  bed  hungry 
after  a  hard  day's  work." 

"  That 's  what  it  is ! "  exclaimed  a  young  man  who 
stood  near,  and  overheard  David's  remark.  "If  they 
doubled  our  present  rations  it  would  n't  be  too  much, 
considering  the  work  we  have  to  do  in  these  mountains. 
I  've  had  only  two  really  satisfying  meals  since  we  left 
Pyramid  Harbor,  and  those  consisted  of  porcupine  stew." 

"Why  don't  they  give  you  more,  then?"  asked  Roly. 

"  Oh !  I  suppose  it 's  because  we  can't  carry  much  food 
on  these  sleds,  and  what  we  have  must  last  until  June, 
when  pack  trains  of  horses  can  bring  us  more.  Would 
you  boys  like  to  look  around  the  camp?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  answered  David. 


THE  MYSTERIOUS  THIRTY-SIX  97 

"Well,"  said  their  guide,  who,  as  they  learned,  came 
from  their  own  State,  "let's  have  a  look  at  the  fire 
place." 

This  was  near  the  cook-tent,  and  consisted  of  a  circular 
hollow  at  the  foot  of  a  tall  spruce.  At  the  bottom  of 
the  cavity  a  bright  fire  blazed,  and  several  kettles  were 
hung  over  it  by  forked  sticks  suspended  from  a  horizontal 
pole,  which  was  supported  at  each  end  at  the  proper  height 
by  a  crotched  stake. 

"There  was  quite  a  hole  here  when  we  came,"  said 
the  young  man,  "and  we  enlarged  it  with  our  shovels, 
and  deepened  it  until  we  reached  the  ground.  The  heat 
of  the  fire  has  made  it  still  larger.  You  can  get  a  good 
idea  of  the  depth  of  the  snow  from  this  hole,  for,  as 
you  see,  the  head  of  the  man  who  stands  in  there  by  the 
fire  does  n't  reach  within  a  foot  of  the  surface.  There  's 
about  twice  as  much  snow  here  as  there  was  in  the 
valley." 

They  next  visited  the  dwelling  tents,  which  were 
exactly  like  the  diminutive  tent  of  David  and  Holy, 
each  barely  accommodating  two  men;  but  here  in  some 
cases  four  men  had  joined,  and  by  spreading  their  two 
tents  and  the  two  flies  over  a  framework  of  poles,  they 
secured  a  sort  of  canvas  hut  which  was  quite  roomy, 
and  sheltered  the  occupants  from  the  wind  on  three 
sides,  while  a  fire  of  logs  before  the  open  fourth  side 
made  the  improvised  dwelling  comfortable  and  cheerful, 

7 


98       GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

and  served  also  to  dry  the  moccasins,  coats,  and  blankets 
which  had  become  damp  on  the  march. 

In  the  distance  they  now  heard  some  one  calling  off  a 
list  of  names.  Their  friend  listened  intently. 

"There,"  said  he,  with  a  woful  face,  "I  'm  wanted.  I 
suppose  it's  my  turn  on  guard  to-night." 

"Do  you  have  to  stand  guard?"  asked  David,  with 
some  surprise.  "  We  never  do.  What  is  there  to  guard 
against?" 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure,"  said  the  young  man,  reply 
ing  to  the  latter  question.  "  Perhaps  our  Indians  would 
meddle  with  the  supplies,  or  it  may  be  the  rule  was  made 
in  the  interest  of  the  cooks,  for  the  last  guard  calls  them 
up  in  the  morning.  Then,  besides,  there  are  generally 
beans  to  be  boiled  at  night,  and  the  guards  do  that,  and, 
of  course,"  he  added  with  a  grimace  and  a  smack  of  the 
lips,  "  we  have  to  sample  those  beans  to  know  when  they 
are  done.  That 's  the  one  redeeming  feature  of  guard 
duty." 

The  boys  laughed,  and  declared  the  guards  were  not 
to  be  blamed  under  the  circumstances. 

"How  long  is  your  watch?"  asked  Roly. 

"Two  hours.  We  draw  lots  for  choice  of  watches. 
There  are  so  many  of  us  that  the  turn  does  n't  come 
round  to  the  same  man  oftener  than  once  a  week,  but 
it  is  pretty  hard  then  to  be  pulled  out  of  the  blankets 
in  the  middle  of  the  night  after  a  long  day's  labor. 


THE   MYSTERIOUS   THIRTY-SIX  99 

Well,  I  must  leave  you.     Good-bye ! "  and  he  was  off  to 
see  about  the  guard  duty. 

The  boys  returned  to  their  camp,  passing  on  the  way 
the  large  tent  of  the  Indians,  who  were  singing  a  weird, 
monotonous  native  chant,  varied  by  the  occasional  inser 
tion  of  religious  hymns  which  they  had  picked  up  at 
Haines'  Mission.  Uncle  Will  was  telling  his  brother 
the  information  he  had  gathered  in  the  neighboring 
camp. 

"They  arrived  here  yesterday,"  he  was  saying,  "so 
their  leader  told  me,  and  to-day  they  carried  part  of 
their  goods  forward  five  miles,  where  they  cached  them. 
The  men  returned  from  that  trip  just  before  we  came. 
To-morrow  they  plan  to  take  another  and  longer  jour 
ney,  moving  their  remaining  supplies  ten  miles  and 
then  returning  here.  That  will  be  a  good  twenty-mile 
march,  and  it  will  use  them  up  so  that  I  think  they  '11 
have  to  rest  one  day  at  least.  Their  leader,  who  was 
willing  enough  to  talk  about  his  present  plans,  said  that 
as  soon  as  possible  after  they  had  made  the  second  cache, 
they  would  take  an  early  start  from  here,  and  try  to 
reach  the  timber  on  the  other  side  the  same  day.  You 
see  they'll  have  virtually  nothing  to  carry  except  tents 
and  blankets  until  they  reach  their  first  cache,  which 
they  will  pick  up,  leaving  the  second  untouched.  In 
other  words,  they  will  travel  five  miles  with  very  light 
loads,  and  then  fifteen  with  half -loads,  —  twenty  miles 


100     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

in  all.  They  will  return  from  that  advanced  camp  the 
next  day  to  their  second  cache  and  take  that  forward." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  "we  shall  have  to 
employ  the  same  tactics  to  some  extent.  We  can't  carry 
forward  our  whole  outfit  in  one  march." 

"That's  true,"  answered  his  brother.  "I  think  it 
would  be  wise  to  first  carry  half -loads  ten  miles.  If 
the  boys  give  out  before  we  get  back,  we  '11  draw  them. 
I  'm  convinced  that  if  we  're  to  beat  the  big  party,  we 
must  do  it  here,  and  work  as  we  never  worked  before. 
One  thing  I  'm  thankful  for,  —  our  loads  are  lighter  than 
theirs,  for  you  see  we  've  already  taken  provisions  for 
myself  and  Long  Peter  as  far  as  Klukshu  Lake,  and 
we  two  are  now  moving  a  share  of  yours.  Besides, 
these  fellows  have  an  unusual  amount  of  clothing  and 
other  truck  in  their  clothing  bags,  and  a  great  deal  of 
heavy  hardware.  What  did  you  learn  from  their  Indians, 
Peter?" 

Long  Peter  smiled  and  looked  wise.  "  Injuns  say  they 
no  go  to-morrow.  Big  snow  come.  White  men  no  keep 
together;  some  get  lost.  No  wood  for  fire.  But  we 
go  if  no  wind.  Me  know  fail  [trail]." 

This  was  a  long  speech  for  Long  Peter,  and  it  meant 
much.  The  morrow  would  decide  the  race. 


THE   SUMMIT   OF   CHILKAT  PASS  101 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE  SUMMIT  OP  CHILKAT  PASS 

THE   prediction  of  snow  was  fulfilled  to  the  let 
ter.     When    the   Bradfords   awoke,    they  found 
the   air  thick  with   feathery  flakes,  which   came 
gently  and  noiselessly  down  on  tent  and  tree  and  drift. 
Already  the  green  boughs  of  the  spruces  were  heavily 
laden.      In    Mr.    Bradford's    thermometer    the    mercury 
stood  at  twenty-five  degrees  above  zero. 

Long  Peter  noted  the  direction  of  the  wind,  which 
was  so  light  as  hardly  to  be  perceptible.  Then  he 
examined  the  snowflakes,  which  were  damp  and  large, 
indicating  that  the  cloud  currents  of  the  air  were  not 
intensely  cold. 

"We  can  go,"  said  he  to  Uncle  WilL 
Breakfast  hurriedly  disposed  of,  the  sleds  were  loaded 
with  half  the  supplies,  oiled  canvas  being  bound  over 
the  goods  to  keep  them  dry.  Uncle  Will  knew  that 
Long  Peter  was  one  of  the  most  experienced  path 
finders  in  his  tribe,  and  would  not  undertake  the  march 
if  he  were  not  well  able  to  bring  them  through  in  safety. 
By  seven  o'clock  they  were  on  their  way,  the  Indian 
leading  and  treading  a  path  with  his  narrow,  turned-up 


102     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

snow-shoes.  The  others  followed  easily  in  his  track,  all 
wearing  snow-shoes,  for  otherwise  they  would  have  broken 
through  the  thin  crust  of  the  old  snow,  and  the  sleds 
would  frequently  have  been  stalled. 

As  they  had  camped  in  the  edge  of  the  woods,  they 
were  quickly  out%  of  sight  of  the  trees,  and  traversing 
a  barren,  snowy  waste  which  presented  a  gentle  up 
ward  incline.  The  falling  snow  cut  off  the  distant 
prospect,  and  in  the  absence  of  all  landmarks  the 
Indian  was  guided  solely  by  the  slope  of  the  ground 
and  the  direction  of  the  wind.  Uncle  Will,  how 
ever,  verified  his  course  from  time  to  time  by  a  small 
compass. 

After  travelling  thus  about  a  mile,  they  arrived  at  the 
edge  of  a  bank  or  bluff,  which  sloped  steeply  down  to 
a  level  space  fifty  feet  below. 

"  Devil's  Slide,"  said  the  Indian  to  Uncle  Will,  in  a 
tone  of  satisfaction. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  latter.  "I  remember  this  place 
and  its  curious  name  very  well." 

"I  don't  see  how  we  are  going  to  get  these  loads 
down,"  said  Holy.  "It's  awfully  steep." 

Long  Peter,  so  far  as  his  own  sled  was  concerned,  quickly 
solved  that  problem.  He  drew  his  load  to  the  edge  of  the 
bluff,  and  then,  with  apparent  recklessness,  threw  him 
self  upon  it  just  as  it  toppled  over  the  brink.  The  others 
held  their  breath  while  man  and  sled  went  down,  as  Holy 


THE   SUMMIT   OF   CHILKAT   PASS  103 

said  afterward,  "like  greased  lightning;"  but  the  run 
ners  cut  through  the  snow  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and 
the  outfit  brought  up  safely. 

Mr.  Bradford  declared  that  might  do  for  Long  Peter, 
but  lie  did  n't  care  to  risk  it.  He  accordingly  let  his 
sled  go  alone,  which  it  did  gracefully  enough  until  half 
way  down,  when  it  swerved,  upset,  and  rolled  over  and 
over,  the  gee-pole  finally  sticking  in  the  snow  and  end 
ing  its  wild  career.  It  was  necessary  to  repack  the 
whole  load. 

Uncle  Will's  sled  fared  better.  As  for  the  boys,  they 
ventured  to  coast  down  as  Long  Peter  had  done,  and 
reached  the  bottom  in  a  whirl  of  snow  without  any 
mishap. 

Near  the  foot  of  the  slide  they  entered  a  narrow  ravine, 
—  the  bed  of  a  mountain  brook  now  buried  deep  under 
the  drifts,  —  and  followed  it  up  for  a  mile  or  two,  emerg 
ing  at  length  upon  an  almost  level  expanse,  which 
Uncle  Will  said  was  one  of  the  highest  places  on  the 
pass. 

"  Indeed, "  said  he,  "  we  may  as  well  call  this  the  sum 
mit,  although  for  many  miles  we  shall  continue  at  about 
this  height.  There  is  a  shallow  lake  in  the  little  hollow 
ahead,  Long  Peter  tells  me,  but  you  wouldn't  guess  it 
to  look  at  this  unbroken  snow-field." 

On  their  right  they  could  now  dimly  see,  through  the 
falling  flakes,  an  abrupt  mountain  peak,  whose  lower 


104     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

slopes  they  were  already  skirting.  Its  top  was  cut  into 
several  sharp  points  like  saw-teeth.  Uncle  Will  informed 
his  friends  that  it  was  one  of  the  best  landmarks  on  the 
pass,  being  visible  in  fair  weather  for  miles  in  either 
direction,  —  in  fact,  it  was  such  a  steadfast,  reliable  peak 
that  it  had  earned  the  name,  "Mount  Stay-there."  To  the 
left  was  a  low  ridge  of  rounded  hills,  beyond  which  noth 
ing  could  be  seen  in  the  thick  air.  It  was  here  that  the 
Bradfords  discovered  the  first,  or  five-mile  cache  of  the 
Mysterious  Thirty-six,  —  a  huge  pile  of  boxes  and  sacks 
protected  from  the  weather  by  oiled  canvas. 

Drawing  their  sleds  into  the  lee  of  the  goods,  they 
seated  themselves  for  a  brief  and  much  needed  rest,  for 
both  of  the  boys  were  complaining  of  their  backs,  and 
Mr.  Bradford  suffered  considerably  in  the  same  way. 
Their  feet,  too,  protested  with  almost  equal  insistence 
against  the  present  journey,  coming  as  it  did  hard  upon 
the  excessive  strain  of  the  preceding  week.  No  one 
thought  of  calling  himself  disabled,  however,  and  the 
pain  was  borne  patiently,  and  for  the  most  part  silently. 
The  soreness  in  their  faces  and  fingers  continued  too, 
but  that  was  a  minor  evil. 

Roly  presently  turned  his  head  and  listened  intently. 
"  What  is  that  noise  ?  "  he  asked,  —  "  that  clucking  which 
sounds  so  near?  I  can't  see  anything,  though  I  've  heard 
it  several  times." 

"You'll   have   to   look  sharp   to   see   those   visitors," 


THE   SUMMIT   OF   CHILKAT  PASS  105 

answered  Uncle  Will.  "What  you  hear  is  the  call  of 
the  ptarmigan,  a  bird  which  in  summer  is  brown,  but  in 
winter  is  white  as  the  snow." 

"  So  we  're  in  a  ptarmigan  country,  are  we  ?  "  said  Mr. 
Bradford.  "  I  believe  that  bird  is  considered  quite  a 
delicacy." 

"There's  nothing  finer,"  said  his  brother.  "We  shall 
have  plenty  of  ptarmigan  from  now  on." 

"What  do  the  birds  live  on?"  asked  David.  "I  don't 
see  anything  but  snow  here." 

His  uncle  replied  that  there  were  places  where  the  wind 
kept  the  ground  bare,  allowing  the  birds  to  pick  seeds 
from  the  grasses,  and  buds  from  the  willows. 

"  There !  "  exclaimed  Roly,  who  had  been  gazing  stead 
ily  into  the  storm,  "I  see  two  of  them  on  the  little 
knoll  yonder.  They  're  not  quite  as  big  as  the  spruce 
partridge." 

The  boys  wished  to  add  them  to  the  larder,  but  as 
revolvers  were  the  only  available  weapons,  and  it  would 
not  do  to  stray  away  from  the  party,  Mr.  Bradford  vetoed 
the  proposition,  saying  that  they  would  undoubtedly  have 
better  opportunities. 

"What  a  funny  note  they  have!"  said  Roly.  "I  do 
believe  they  are  calling  Long  Peter.  Listen,  now. 
'Peter,  Peter,  Peter;  come  over,  come  over.'" 

The  others  agreed  that  this  was  a  very  fair  inter 
pretation,  and  the  Indian  exclaimed,  "Me  come  over 


106     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

bime-by;  make  ptarmigan  sick,"  —  whereat  they  were 
all  amused,  and  for  the  moment  forgot  their  pain  and 
discomfort 

It  would  not  do,  however,  to  rest  too  long,  for  they 
were  becoming  chilled,  and  stiff  in  every  joint.  With 
much  limping  until  renewed  exercise  had  limbered  their 
sore  muscles,  the  little  band  resumed  the  march,  making 
brief  halts  when  their  breath  gave  out  on  the  hills,  but 
gaining  ground  the  rest  of  the  time  slowly  but  steadily. 
Long  Peter  turned  to  the  left  from  the  base  of  Mount 
Stay-there,  and  for  several  miles  followed  the  northeastern 
slope  of  a  range  of  low,  rounded  hills,  descending  gradu 
ally  until  he  reached  the  valley  of  a  brook  which  Uncle 
Will  said  must  be  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Chilkat, 
since  it  flowed  to  the  south.  The  brook  was  buried  under 
the  snow  for  the  most  part,  but  near  noon  an  open  place 
was  discovered,  to  which,  with  mouths  parched  from  toil, 
they  all  rushed,  for  there  had  been  no  water  to  drink 
since  leaving  the  brook  at  Rainy  Hollow,  and  eating 
snow  was  prohibited,  owing  to  repeated  warnings  from 
the  Indian  that  it  would  "make  sick."  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  beef  tablets,  they  would  have  suffered  more  than 
they  did. 

Here  they  ate  a  cold  repast  of  salt  pork  and  hard-tack, 
and  never  did  food  taste  better  than  those  thick  slices 
of  fat  meat.  The  dry,  tough  crackers,  too,  now  that 
there  was  water  in  plenty,  seemed  sweeter  than  the 


THE   SUMMIT   OF   CHILKAT  PASS  107 

sweetest  morsel  at  home.  Thus  do  hunger  and  hard 
work  transform  the  rudest  fare. 

After  the  meal,  and  a  half-hour's  rest,  the  snow  became 
increasingly  sticky,  clogging  beneath  their  snow-shoes  in 
hard,  icy  masses,  and  making  those  articles  extremely 
heavy,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  halt  often  and  rap  off 
the  frozen  particles.  The  boys  were  getting  very  tired, 
and  in  spite  of  their  light  loads  were  fain,  time  and 
again,  to  pause  for  breath  and  a  rest.  Hour  after  hour 
hardly  a  word  was  spoken,  no  one  having  any  surplus 
energy  to  expend  in  that  way.  David  was  really  more 
exhausted  than  Roly,  for  though  the  older,  he  was  the 
weaker,  owing  to  his  rapid  growth;  but,  with  an  elder 
brother's  pride,  he  would  have  dropped  rather  than  com 
plain  first.  So  for  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  he 
struggled  on  in  silence,  scarcely  able  to  drag  one  foot 
after  the  other,  but  pluckily  dogging  his  father's  sled, 
though  at  last  his  head  swam  so  that  he  fairly  wavered 
as  he  walked.  Poor  fellow !  he  realized,  as  never  before, 
how  light  in  reality  were  the  tasks  of  home  and  school, 
which  had  seemed  so  often  distasteful  and  hard.  He 
thought  of  his  mother  and  Helen  by  the  comfortable  fire 
side,  and  then  of  a  bright-haired  girl  waving  her  hand 
kerchief  to  him  from  the  wharf,  —  and  then  he  knew  no 
more. 

It  was  a  cry  from  Roly  which  gave  the  others  the  first 
intimation  of  David's  collapse.  Roly  had  been  close 


108     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

behind  him,  bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  procession,  and 
had  seen  his  brother  pitch  forward  like  a  log  into  the 
snow  and  lie  there  motionless.  Mr.  Bradford  and  Uncle 
Will  ran  back  in  alarm,  and  while  the  former  placed  a 
coat  under  David's  head  and  rubbed  his  forehead  with 
snow,  the  other,  after  feeling  his  pulse,  drew  forth  a 
flask  of  brandy,  which  he  carried  for  such  emergencies, 
and  poured  a  little  between  the  boy's  lips.  It  was  several 
minutes  before  he  opened  his  eyes  and  asked  where  he 
was,  and  what  was  the  matter. 

Seeing  that  he  was  reviving,  the  others  held  a  hurried 
consultation.  It  was  now  about  four  o'clock.  Uncle 
Will  and  Long  Peter,  both  of  whom  were  well  fitted  to 
judge,  were  of  the  opinion  that  in  spite  of  many  rests 
and  a  snail-like  progress,  they  had  fully  covered  ten 
miles,  as  they  had  planned  to  do.  The  return  journey 
with  empty  sleds  was  still  before  them,  and  must  be 
accomplished  before  nightfall.  Long  Peter  moreover 
looked  skyward,  and  shook  his  head  ominously. 

"Wind  come  bime-by,"  said  he.  "We  stop  here  — 
make  cache  —  go  back  quick.  Too  much  wind  no  good!  " 

"That 's  just  what  we  've  got  to  do,"  said  Uncle  Will, 
observing  the  signs  of  the  storm's  increase.  "Off  with 
the  goods,  and  don't  lose  a  minute ! " 

Boxes  and  bags  were  hurriedly  loosed  from  the  lash 
ings,  and  piled  in  a  high  heap,  so  that  the  topmost  ones 
would  remain  visible  above  the  deepest  snow-fall.  The 


THE   SUMMIT   OF   CHILKAT  PASS  109 

cache  was  then  covered  with  oiled  canvas  held  in  place 
by  boxes,  loose  ropes  were  gathered  up  and  fastened  upon 
the  sleds,  and  all  was  ready. 

Now  came  the  question  of  what  to  do  with  David,  who 
was  sitting  up,  faint  and  dazed,  but  undaunted.  He  in 
sisted  that  he  could  walk  in  a  few  moments,  but  the 
others  would  not  hear  of  it,  for  no  sooner  did  he  try  to 
rise  than  he  fell  back  again  weak  and  dizzy.  It  was 
decided  that  he  should  lie  upon  a  long  sled  and  be  drawn 
by  the  three  men  in  turn,  at  least  for  an  hour  or  two, 
until  he  recovered  more  fully. 

In  this  manner,  therefore,  they  started  at  once  to  re 
trace  their  steps,  Mr.  Bradford  taking  the  first  turn  at 
drawing  his  disabled  son.  The  snowflakes  were  whirl 
ing  and  driving  now  before  the  rising  gusts,  and  the 
air  felt  colder.  David  was  accordingly  wrapped  in  the 
heavy  coats  of  the  others,  he  being  the  only  one  who 
could  not  keep  warm  by  exercise. 

The  rest  and  the  ride  refreshed  him'  greatly,  so  that  at 
the  open  brook  where  they  had  lunched,  he  declared, 
after  a  drink  of  cold  water,  that  he  would  not  be  drawn 
any  farther.  He  threw  off  the  coats  impatiently,  not 
forgetting,  however,  to  thank  his  faithful  friends,  and 
standing  up,  found  himself  strong  enough  to  walk. 
Uncle  Will  now  insisted  that  Roly  should  ride  for  a 
while,  though  that  youth,  tired  as  he  was,  did  not  think 
it  necessary,  and  only  yielded  with  reluctance.  So 


110     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

wearied  was  he,  however,  that  no  sooner  had  he  stretched 
himself  on  the  sled  than  he  fell  fast  asleep,  and  rode  in 
that  manner  much  farther  than  he  had  intended,  the 
others  having  no  heart  to  wake  him. 

The  valleys  and  slopes  were  comparatively  easy  to 
identify  and  follow  with  the  aid  of  Uncle  Will's  com 
pass,  until  Mount  Stay- there  was  reached,  but  by  that 
time  it  was  between  six  and  seven  o'clock,  and  darkness 
was  settling  down.  Meanwhile,  the  wind  had  increased, 
and  the  snow  was  drifting.  It  was  very  evident  now 
why  the  Indians  dreaded  a  storm  on  the  summit.  Terrible 
indeed  would  it  be,  to  become  confused  in  such  a  place ! 
Here  was  no  hospice  of  St.  Bernard,  sending  out  its  men 
and  dogs  to  the  rescue,  but  only  a  howling,  uninhabited, 
frozen  waste  for  miles. 

For  a  little  while  yet,  the  Bradfords  were  in  no  danger 
of  losing  their  way.  It  was  not  difficult  to  find  the  head 
of  the  ravine  which  they  had  ascended  that  morning, 
and  it  led  them  straight  to  the  Devil's  Slide.  But  the 
last  mile  from  there  to  camp  lay  across  the  bleak,  wind 
swept  upland.  They  were  never  in  more  need  of  the  com 
pass  than  now,  but,  alas !  they  could  no  longer  see  it. 

With  great  difficulty  matches  were  lighted  at  intervals, 
and  though  these  were  invariably  blown  out  directly, 
they  enabled  the  party  to  determine  their  course.  Side 
by  side  and  close  together  they  walked,  in  order  that  no 
one  might  lag  behind  or  be  lost  in  the  blinding  storm. 


THE   SUMMIT  OF  CHILKAT  PASS  111 

It  was  a  wild  experience,  and  one  which  the  boys  will 
never  forget,  nor  their  elders  either,  for  that  matter. 
Suddenly  they  heard  the  Indian  exclaim,  "  Trees ! " 
They  had  struck  the  timber  line  at  last,  some  distance 
from  their  camp,  but  presently,  having  ascertained  their 
whereabouts,   they  covered  the  remaining  interval,  and 
with  glad  hearts  flung  themselves  into  the  tents. 


112     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER   XIII 


THE  storm  continued  all  the  next  day,  which  was 
Sunday,  and  both  parties  remained  in  camp,  the 
Bradfords    according    to  their  custom,    and   the 
others  because  of  the  weather. 

"We  stole  a  good  march  on  them  yesterday,"  said 
Uncle  Will  at  breakfast,  "and  I  believe  we  shall  come 
out  ahead.  While  they  are  making  their  ten-mile  cache 
and  returning  here,  we  can  make  a  straight  march  and 
camp  on  the  other  side.  We  shall  be  just  one  day  ahead 
of  them  then,  and  I  think  we  can  hold  that  lead.  At 
the  same  time,  we  must  not  overtax  the  boys.  I  would 
rather  lose  all  the  gold  in  the  universe  than  injure  their 
health." 

The  plan  suggested  by  Uncle  Will  was  carried  out, 
and  camp  was  pitched  in  due  time  among  the  straggling 
spruces  beyond  the  pass.  Nothing  worth  mention  oc 
curred  on  that  march,  save  the  discovery  of  a  sulphur 
spring  at  a  place  called  Mosquito  Flats,  and  the  shoot 
ing  of  several  ptarmigan,  from  which  was  concocted  a 
delicious  stew  with  real  dumplings  and  gravy. 


DALTON'S   POST  113 

Being  far  too  tired  after  their  long  tramp  to  search  for 
tent-poles  and  soft  boughs  in  such  an  unpromising  place, 
the  boys  decided  not  to  raise  their  tent.  Instead  they 
laid  it  flat  upon  the  snow,  spread  the  blankets  and  down 
quilts  upon  it,  and  covered  the  whole  with  the  rubber 
blanket.  They  turned  in  soon  after  supper,  curling  far 
under  the  coverlets,  in  which  they  arranged  a  small  open 
ing  for  breathing  purposes,  and  slept  warmly  and  well. 
What  was  their  surprise,  when  they  awoke,  to  find  that 
snow  had  fallen  during  the  night  and  covered  them,  so 
that  the  ptarmigan,  seeing  only  a  white  mound,  were 
clucking  and  calling  almost  within  arm's  reach.  So 
tame  were  these  birds  that  even  when  the  boys  jumped 
up  and  shook  the  snow  from  their  bed,  they  only  flew 
to  a  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  where  they  paused 
to  eye  the  strangers  curiously. 

The  Bradfords  brought  in  their  cache  that  day,  in 
spite  of  violent  snow-squalls  which  evidently  prevented 
the  Thirty-six  from  making  their  final  dash  across  the 
summit.  Thus  they  gained  another  day  in  the  race. 

They  were  now  at  a  place  called  Glacier  Camp,  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  Alsek  River,  which  flows  first  to 
the  north  for  fifty  miles,  then  makes  a  great  sweep  to  the 
west  past  Dal  ton's  trading-post  and  the  village  of  the 
Stiks,  and  finally,  turning  to  the  south,  cuts  the  massive 
St.  Elias  Range,  and  enters  the  Pacific  at  Dry  Bay. 
They  were  glad  to  take  advantage  of  the  smooth  and 

8 


114     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

level  surface  of  this  river,  with  its  alternate  patches  of 
ice  and  firm  snow,  but  there  were  considerable  stretches 
where,  to  avoid  the  windings  of  the  stream,  the  trail 
took  the  shortest  course  through  the  woods,  in  spite  of 
soft  snow  and  the  many  irregularities  of  the  ground. 

For  a  week  they  travelled  in  this  manner  through  the 
varied  scenery  of  the  Alsek  valley,  now  traversing  wide 
plains,  now  passing  sublime  mountains  and  frowning 
cliffs,  and  meeting  with  sundry  new  experiences.  On 
one  occasion  they  enjoyed  the  novel  sensation  of  feeling 
their  high-piled  sleds  blown  merrily  over  glare  ice  by  a 
strong  south  wind.  When  this  impetuous  ally  took  hold, 
Roly  longed  for  a  pair  of  skates,  that  he  might  glide 
easily  in  front  of  his  sled.  As  it  was,  his  spiked  ice- 
creepers  dug  in  at  every  step,  the  sled  was  continually 
on  his  heels,  and  all  the  gliding  he  could  do  was  in  his 
imagination. 

David  had  imprudently  neglected  to  wear  his  dark 
snow-glasses,  and  the  sun  being  now  high  and  the  snow 
dazzling,  he  was  attacked  with  snow-blindness, —  a  malady 
no  doubt  aggravated  by  the  pungent  smoke  of  the  camp- 
fires.  When  he  sat  down  to  supper  one  evening,  he 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  his  eyes  open.  Prickly  pains 
darted  through  the  eyeballs,  and  the  vision  was  seriously 
impaired.  On  the  following  day  he  could  hardly  see  to 
walk,  in  spite  of  the  glasses  which  now  —  too  late  —  he 
wore.  Fortunately  Mr.  Bradford  had  included  in  the 


D ALTON'S   POST  115 

medical  stores  an  eye-wash  for  this  painful  affection,  and 
after  two  or  three  days'  treatment  the  inflammation  sub 
sided,  and  normal  vision  returned. 

Hardly  a  day  passed  in  which  the  travellers  succeeded 
in  keeping  entirely  dry.  To  go  to  sleep  in  wet  stock 
ings  was  the  customary  thing;  they  were  sure  to  dry 
during  the  night  from  the  bodily  warmth,  and  no  one 
thought  of  taking  cold.  On  one  memorable  march  a 
damp,  clinging  snow  fell  in  enormous  flakes,  which 
melted  upon  their  coats,  soaked  through,  and  finally  ran 
down  into  their  shoes,  and  it  required  a  roaring  fire  that 
night  to  restore  the  little  company  to  a  fair  degree  of 
comfort. 

None  too  soon  they  arrived  at  Dalton's  Post,  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  coast,  for  signs  had  not 
been  wanting  that  the  ice  was  about  to  go  out  of  the 
streams. 

How  novel  it  seemed  to  stand  under  a  roof  once  more ! 
How  delightful  to  sit  down  in  a  chair  beside  a  roaring 
stove  and  bid  defiance  to  the  elements !  This  little  settle 
ment,  so  far  from  anywhere  in  particular,  was  a  very- 
oasis  of  civilization. 

The  storekeeper,  Mr.  Martin,  usually  called  "Ike," 
was  a  small,  wiry  man,  whose  black  hair  was  sprinkled 
with  gray.  He  was  very  glad  to  see  the  new-comers, 
and  welcomed  them  hospitably,  inquiring  whence  they 
came  and  what  was  the  news  in  the  outside  world.  For 


116     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

months  he  had  been  the  only  white  man  at  the  trading- 
post,  Jack  Dalton,  the  owner,  being  absent  on  a  journey 
to  the  coast.  The  advent  of  prospectors  now  and  then 
was  the  only  break  in  his  monotonous  existence. 

On  entering  the  substantial  log  store,  the  boys  surveyed 
the  interior  with  interest.  It  was  not  unlike  that  of  a 
country  store  at  home,  the  shelves  being  piled  high  with 
calicoes  and  ginghams,  shoes,  hats,  tin  pans,  plates,  and 
cups,  while  from  the  roof-beams  depended  kettles,  pails, 
steel  traps,  guns,  and  snow-shoes.  Ike  informed  them 
that  he  kept  a  small  stock  of  flour,  bacon,  rice,  sugar, 
and  other  provisions,  in  a  storehouse  near  at  hand,  and 
that  the  establishment  traded  principally  with  the  Stik 
Indians,  whose  village  lay  nearly  a  mile  down-stream  to 
the  west.  The  natives  paid  for  the  goods,  either  with 
money  earned  by  packing  on  the  trail,  or  with  the  skins 
of  bears,  foxes,  and  other  fur-bearing  animals. 

"  What  do  you  charge  for  your  goods  ? "  asked  David, 
after  his  father  and  uncle  had  departed  to  select  a  camp 
ing-place.  He  had  heard  of  the  exorbitant  prices  of  the 
Klondike. 

"It  depends  a  good  deal  on  supply  an'  demand,  same 
as  anywhere  else,"  answered  Ike.  "But  we  commonly 
give  the  Indians  a  lower  rate  than  white  men.  You  see, 
the  Indians  are  our  regular  customers,  an'  it 's  for  our 
int'rest  to  give  them  the  preference.  They  have  to 
depend  on  us  entirely  for  many  of  the  necessaries  of 


DALTON'S  POST  117 

life,  while  white  men  should  not  come  in  here  without 
bringing  what  they  need.  Just  now  we  're  running  short 
o'  flour,  —  would  n't  sell  a  fifty-pound  sack  to  a  white 
man  for  less  than  twenty-five  dollars.  There  hain't  been 
trade  enough  with  whites  up  to  this  year  to  make  it 
worth  while  to  carry  a  big  stock,  for,  as  you  probably 
know  by  this  time,  it 's  a  hard  job  to  get  supplies  over 
the  summit." 

"Have  you  heard  about  the  big  party  behind  us?" 
asked  Roly. 

"Yes,  Al  King  told  me  about  them  the  other  day, 
when  he  passed  here." 

"Will  you  sell  provisions  to  them?"  asked  David. 
"They've  been  on  short  rations  right  along." 

"  Not  in  large  amounts.  They  must  look  out  for  them 
selves.  If  they  should  want  a  few  sweets  to  munch  on, 
we  might  let  them  have  raisins  at  fifty  cents  a  pound,  or 
candy  at  one  dollar." 

"Candy?"  repeated  Roly,  eagerly.  "Just  let  me  see 
some  if  you  please,  Mr.  Martin." 

The  storekeeper  laughed,  and  produced  a  cheap,  mixed 
grade, —  the  best  he  had,  of  which  luxury  the  boys  bought 
quite  a  quantity. 

While  Roly  was  describing  how  the  Thirty-six  had  been 
distanced  on  the  summit,  two  Indian  women  entered  and 
addressed  the  storekeeper  in  the  native  language,  with 
which  he  seemed  perfectly  familiar.  He  rose,  and  going 


118     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

behind  the  counter,  weighed  out  some  salt,  answering 
meantime  a  number  of  questions  which  seemed  to  have 
reference  to  the  boys,  at  whom  the  women  glanced 
occasionally. 

"They  wanted  to  know  all  about  you,"  said  Ike,  when 
his  customers  had  gone.  "  They  belong  to  Lucky's  fam 
ily.  Your  uncle  knows  Lucky,  don't  he?" 

"Yes,"  said  David.  "Uncle  Will  took  care  of  him 
when  he  was  shot.  Is  he  well  again?" 

"  Oh,  yes !  Off  trapping  now  somewhere  in  the  woods. 
He  's  a  shrewd  one,  that  Lucky.  Brings  in  more  furs 
than  any  other  man  in  the  tribe.  He  's  a  tall,  wiry  chap, 
with  big  cheek-bones  an'  little  foxy  eyes,  an'  the  reg'lar 
Indian  virtues  an'  vices.  He  's  brave,  an'  he  's  enduring, 
an'  a  splendid  hunter,  but  he  's  sly  an'  lazy.  Little  Coffee 
Jack,  his  brother,  is  going  to  be  just  like  him." 

"There  's  Father  calling  us,"  said  David,  presently. 
"  They  probably  want  water.  Where  do  you  get  it,  Mr. 
Martin?" 

"You  '11  find  a  hole  cut  in  the  river  ice,"  answered  the 
storekeeper,  "  if  you  follow  the  path  straight  out  from  the 
door.  You  can't  miss  it.  You  want  to  be  careful,  though." 

Having  procured  kettles  at  the  camp,  the  boys  easily 
found  the  path,  and  the  hole  to  which  it  led.  So  great 
was  the  combined  thickness  of  snow  and  ice  that  the 
opening  was  about  five  feet  deep,  wide  at  the  top,  but 
narrowing  toward  the  bottom.  A  sort  of  shelf  or  ledge 


DALTON'S   POST  119 

had  been  hacked  out  about  halfway  down,  upon  which 
the  person  drawing  the  water  could  stand,  and  as  an 
additional  safeguard  a  pole  had  been  set  horizontally 
across  the  hole.  So  rapid  was  the  current  that  the  water 
did  not  rise  in  the  hole,  but  fairly  flew  beneath  it. 

"I  don't  wonder  Mr.  Martin  told  us  to  be  careful," 
said  David,  with  a  shudder.  "One  slip  on  that  icy 
ledge,  and  down  you  'd  go  into  the  dark  water  and 
under  the  ice  in  a  jiffy." 

"Just  think,"  observed  Roly,  "if  Mr.  Martin  had  ever 
fallen  like  that  when  he  was  here  alone,  no  one  would 
ever  know  what  had  become  of  him.  The  hole  would 
soon  get  filled  up,  and  his  disappearance  would  be  the 
kind  of  a  mystery  you  read  about.  Probably  the  Indians 
would  be  suspected." 

"Yes,"  said  David,  "I've  no  doubt  of  it.  But  now 
let 's  get  the  water.  You  stand  up  here,  and  I  '11  do  the 
dipping.  You  see,"  he  added,  concealing  with  an  air  of 
mock  pride  the  real  responsibility  he  felt,  "superior  age 
makes  it  my  duty  to  take  the  post  of  danger,"  —  with 
which  heroic  burst  he  scrambled  quickly  but  carefully 
down  and  filled  the  kettles  without  accident,  though  they 
were  nearly  jerked  from  his  hands  by  the  force  of  the 
current.  It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  had  Uncle  Will 
known  the  dangerous  character  of  the  water-hole,  which 
only  Long  Peter  had  visited  on  his  earlier  trip,  he  would 
have  fetched  the  water  himself. 


120     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER   XIV 

FEOM  THE  STIK  VILLAGE  TO  LAKE   DASAR-DEE-ASH 

THE  Bradfords  passed  through  the  Stik  village 
early  the  next  day,  after  leaving  letters  with  the 
storekeeper  to  be  sent  back  when  opportunity 
offered.  This  Indian  settlement  consisted  of  about  a 
dozen  houses,  some  built  of  rough  logs,  others  of  hewn 
boards.  A  few  possessed  the  luxury  of  glass  windows. 
Over  the  door  of  one  of  the  more  pretentious  was  nailed 
a  board  on  which  was  painted  the  name  of  the  chief, 
John  Kah  Sha.  The  Indians,  many  of  whom  appeared 
abjectly  dirty  and  ignorant,  gazed  stolidly  for  the  most 
part  at  the  travellers,  but  a  few  nodded  and  smiled  as 
they  passed,  and  called  away  the  swarm  of  curs  which 
yelped  or  fawned  at  their  heels. 

Beyond  the  village  the  trail  turned  north  and  left  the 
river  valley,  ascending  eight  hundred  feet  by  a  sharp 
ridge  to  the  top  of  a  great  table-land.  The  snow  had 
melted  from  the  ridge,  and  it  was  necessary  to  unpack 
the  sleds  and  carry  up  the  goods  piecemeal,  —  an  opera 
tion  which  required  many  trips  and  the  severest  labor, 
and  occupied  the  entire  day. 


STIK  VILLAGE  TO  LAKE   DASAR-DEE-ASH     121 

In  the  nick  of  time  Lucky  appeared  with  his  younger 
brother,  and  having  begged  to  be  allowed  to  accompany 
the  party,  —  a  request  which  Uncle  Will  granted  at  once, 
—  he  fell  to  work  with  such  energy  and  good- will  that 
the  boys  were  inclined  to  think  the  storekeeper  had 
erred  in  calling  him  lazy.  Coffee  Jack,  too,  struggled 
with  flour  sacks  nearly  as  heavy  as  himself,  and  won 
golden  opinions  from  everybody.  The  truth  is,  an  Indian 
is  every  whit  as  ready  as  a  white  man  to  show  gratitude 
for  kindness. 

Reaching  the  brow  of  the  hill  breathless  and  warm 
after  the  first  ascent,  the  Bradfords  threw  their  loads 
upon  the  ground  and  paused  to  rest  and  look  back.  A 
wonderful  panorama  was  outspread  before  them.  Green 
spruce  forests  were  sprinkled  over  the  snowy  surface  of 
the  Alsek  valley  and  its  bordering  plateaus.  Below 
them  lay  the  Indian  village,  while  to  the  east  in  a 
clearing  rose  a  column  of  blue  smoke  from  the  chimney 
of  the  trading-post.  They  could  trace  the  river  for  many 
miles  in  its  great  curve  to  the  south,  where  on  the  far 
horizon  glittered  the  mighty  summits  of  the  St.  Elias 
Range.  To  the  southeast,  perhaps  ten  miles  away, 
loomed  a  grand  cluster  of  unnamed  mountains,  and  an 
other  to  the  southwest,  while,  to  perfectly  balance  the 
picture,  similar  isolated  mountain  groups  appeared  over 
the  tree-tops  in  the  northeast  and  northwest. 

It  was  here  that  a  trim,  long-tailed  bird  was  first  ob- 


122     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

served,  whose  plumage  was  mostly  black,  and  whose  note 
was  loud  rather  than  musical.  Uncle  Will  said  it  was 
a  magpie,  a  bird  which,  in  captivity,  can  be  taught  like 
the  parrot  to  imitate  the  human  voice.  Another  bird,  of 
a  gray  color,  made  its  appearance  at  dinner-time,  and 
showed  a  great  fondness  for  bacon  rinds,  coming  close 
up  to  the  party  to  snatch  the  coveted  morsels.  This 
was  the  butcher-bird  or  shrike,  very  common  in  all  the 
northwestern  country,  and  an  arrant  thief  when  there  is 
meat  in  sight. 

Sledding  was  resumed  next  morning.  The  enlistment 
of  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  had  swelled  their  number  to 
seven,  and  without  increasing  the  loads  to  be  carried 
added  to  the  working  force,  so  that  in  spite  of  the  soft 
ness  of  the  snow  good  progress  was  made.  Lucky 
had  brought  an  old  sled,  cast  aside  by  some  pros 
pector;  but  as  it  was  too  weak  to  carry  a  full  load, 
Uncle  Will  relegated  it  to  Coffee  Jack  with  one  hun 
dred  pounds,  while  Lucky  drew  the  sleds  of  the  others 
by  turns. 

The  boys  soon  had  occasion  to  observe  the  shrewdness 
of  their  young  Indian  friend.  The  gee-pole  of  Coffee 
Jack's  sled  broke  on  a  steep  down-grade,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  halt  for  repairs.  The  Indians  invariably  take 
much  pride  in  their  powers  as  swift,  strong  packers  and 
sledders,  especially  when  in  the  company  of  white  men, 
and  Coffee  Jack  was  now  at  his  wits'  end  to  maintain 


STIK  VILLAGE   TO   LAKE   DASAR-DEE-ASH     123 

his  position  and  keep  the  young  pale-faces  behind  him. 
He  rose  to  the  emergency,  however. 

"You  got  hatchet?"  he  asked  innocently,  as  David 
approached.  "Sled  broke." 

"  Yes,"  said  David,  handing  over  that  article  and  sit 
ting  down  good-naturedly  on  his  sled  while  the  Indian 
boy  went  to  cut  a  new  pole.  He  supposed  that  as  soon 
as  Coffee  Jack  had  secured  the  pole  and  driven  it  into 
place,  he  would  return  the  hatchet,  without  waiting  to 
re-fasten  the  drag-rope  and  lashings,  which  it  had  been 
necessary  to  loosen. 

This,  however,  was  just  what  Coffee  Jack  did  not 
propose  to  do.  Seeing,  as  he  had  hoped  would  be  the 
case,  that  David  had  stopped  to  wait  for  the  hatchet, 
and  Roly  had  stopped  rather  than  make  so  long  a 
de'tour  out  of  the  trail  through  the  deep  snow,  he  pre 
tended  to  need  the  hatchet  after  the  pole  was  in  place, 
giving  a  rap  here  and  a  tap  there,  and  all  the  while 
adroitly  fastening  the  ropes  in  place  again. 

But  Yankees  have  a  reputation  for  shrewdness  as  well 
as  Indians,  and  David  and  Roly  were  quick  to  perceive 
Coffee  Jack's  trick.  While  the  Indian  boy's  back  was 
turned,  the  two  exchanged  signals;  then  David  quietly 
turned  out  of  the  trail,  passed  Coffee  Jack's  sled,  though 
only  with  considerable  difficulty,  and  came  into  the  trail 
again,  closely  followed  by  Roly. 

Perceiving  that  his  plans  were  discovered  and  frus- 


124     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   D ALTON  TRAIL 

trated,  and  realizing  that  he  had  met  his  match,  Coffee 
Jack  laughed  and  surrendered  the  hatchet. 

During  the  next  few  days,  while  they  were  ascending 
the  comparatively  narrow  valley  of  Klukshu  River,  a 
small  stream  emptying  into  the  Alsek  above  Dalton's 
Post,  winter  made  his  last  dying  effort.  It  was  now 
the  middle  of  April,  and  the  sun  was  so  high  that  the 
snow  softened  greatly  at  midday.  It  had  become  im 
possible  to  make  satisfactory  progress  except  by  rising 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  starting  as  soon  as 
there  was  light.  For  three  successive  nights  the  mer 
cury  sank  to  zero,  and  the  air  was  so  keen  and  frosty 
that  their  fingers  were  nearly  frozen  when,  in  the  early 
dawn-light,  they  removed  their  mittens  to  loosen  the 
knots  of  the  tent-ropes;  yet  by  noon  it  was  invariably 
so  warm  that  the  snow  was  melting  and  the  sleds  stuck 
fast. 

The  Klukshu  River  was  not  so  thoroughly  ice-bound 
as  the  Alsek,  and,  already  swollen  with  the  melting  snows, 
it  had  broken  its  fetters  in  many  places,  so  that  it  was 
impossible  to  follow  the  stream  itself.  Twice,  however, 
the  trail  crossed  it,  —  first  from  west  to  east  by  a  jam  of 
tree -trunks  and  debris,  and  then  back  again  by  a  narrow 
span  of  ice  which  cracked  ominously  and  threatened  to 
go  down-stream,  even  as  they  passed  over  it. 

Here  they  met  Grant  Baldwin,  Al  King's  partner,  — 
a  young  man  not  much  older  than  David,  who  was 


STIK  VILLAGE   TO   LAKE   DASAR-DEE-ASH     125 

travelling  alone  to  the  coast  with  a  sled  drawn  by  two 
dogs. 

At  length,  after  many  a  tussle  with  hills  and  willow 
thickets  and  stumps  and  roots  and  ruts,  all  of  which 
seemed  in  league  to  oppose  them,  the  Bradfords  reached 
the  lower  end  of  Klukshu  Lake,  a  long  but  narrow  body 
of  water  at  the  eastern  side  of  a  broad  valley.  Except  a 
small  spot  near  the  outlet,  it  was  covered  with  ice  and 
snow.  Four  miles  to  the  west  among  others  rose  a  peak 
so  perfectly  conical  as  to  serve  for  an  excellent  landmark, 
while  to  the  northwest  and  ten  miles  away  they  could  see 
the  extensive  mountain  system  in  which  lay  Al  King's 
claim. 

Uncle  Will  at  once  examined  the  cache  which  he  had 
left  in  the  deserted  Indian  shack.  Finding  it  intact  and 
in  good  condition,  he  determined  to  keep  it  there  for  the 
present,  and  the  whole  party  pushed  on  up  the  lake, 
which  proved  to  be  about  four  miles  long,  curving  to  the 
east  at  its  upper  end.  Here  a  long  hill  was  surmounted 
in  the  same  manner  as  at  the  Stik  village,  after  which  a 
trail  through  the  woods  brought  them  over  a  divide  to 
a  larger  lake  called  Dasar-dee-ash,  whose  outlet,  in 
contrast  to  that  of  Klukshu,  flowed  from  the  northern 
end.  This  lake  was  solidly  frozen  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
see,  its  surface  being  a  succession  of  snowy  windrows 
separated  by  streaks  of  ice.  The  grand  mountain  chain 
which  they  had  seen  in  the  distance  rose  from  its  western 


126     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

edge,  while  the  opposite  shore  sloped  gently  back  in 
wooded  hills.  Mr.  Bradford  estimated  that  the  lake 
was  fifteen  miles  long,  and  about  twelve  broad  at  its 
widest  part. 

That  evening  the  Bradfords  in  council  decided  that  the 
three  Indians  should  bring  up  Uncle  Will's  cache  on  the 
morrow,  they,  in  the  mean  time,  making  a  flying  visit 
to  Shorty  Creek  for  the  purpose  of  staking  claims.  To 
be  sure,  the  Kah  Sha  River  and  all  its  tributary  creeks, 
Shorty  included,  would  be  buried  deep  under  snow  and 
ice,  and  claims  would  have  to  be  chosen  at  random,  but 
even  this  was  better  than  ignoring  a  district  where  gold 
was  known  to  be.  Later,  when  they  had  visited  their 
principal  goal,  some  thirty  miles  distant,  they  could 
return,  hunt  for  Lucky's  big  nugget,  and  see  what 
kind  of  claims  they  had  drawn  from  the  Shorty  Creek 
grab-bag. 


STAKING   CLAIMS  127 


CHAPTER    XV 

STAKING  CLAIMS 

A  DAY'S  delay  was  occasioned  by  a  snow-storm, 
but  the  second  morning  opened  bright,  and 
the  Indians  early  departed  on  their  errand. 
The  Bradfords  started  soon  afterward,  crossing  a  bay  of 
the  lake  and  making  for  the  western  shore  at  a  point  near 
the  southern  base  of  the  mountains.  A  valley,  mostly 
wooded  and  several  miles  in  width,  extended  straight 
back  in  that  direction ;  and  after  following  it  about  six 
miles,  Uncle  Will,  who  had  previously  questioned  Lucky 
as  to  the  route,  turned  to  the  right  toward  a  deep  gap 
which  now  came  into  view.  This  was  the  gorge  of  the 
Kah  Sha  River,  —  a  stream  named  after  the  old  chief  of 
the  Stiks. 

They  had  made  fairly  rapid  progress,  having  brought 
but  one  sled  with  food  for  two  days,  tents,  blankets, 
cooking  outfit,  two  axes,  and  a  gold-pan.  It  was  neces 
sary,  however,  to  wear  snow-shoes  the  entire  distance. 
This  in  itself  was  fatiguing,  and  rests  were  frequent. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  gorge  they  came  out  of  the 
woods  into  a  wide,  clear  space,  which,  later  in  the  season, 
when  the  snow  was  gone,  they  found  to  be  due  to  an 


128     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

immense  deposit  of  stones  and  gravel  thrown  out  by  the 
stream  through  many  generations.  This  open  tract  led 
them  directly  to  the  gorge,  and  presently  they  passed  in 
between  high  bluffs  of  sand  and  gravel,  which  soon  gave 
way  in  places  to  abrupt  cliffs  of  dark,  slaty  rock  several 
hundred  feet  in  height.  The  river  could  be  heard  dash 
ing  impatiently  over  its  stony  bed  under  huge  banks  of 
snow,  which  had  drifted  in  upon  it  to  so  great  a  depth 
that  the  water  could  seldom  be  seen.  It  was  a  wild  and 
wonderful  canyon  such  as  the  boys  had  never  dreamed  of, 
and  they  felt  the  spirit  of  adventure  rise  within  them  as 
they  realized  that  this  was  a  land  of  gold.  Who  could 
tell  what  treasures  lay  at  last  beneath  their  feet  ?  They 
could  hardly  refrain  from  scrutinizing  every  rock  for  the 
gleam  of  yellow  metal.  They  gazed  long  and  earnestly 
at  the  bare  patches  of  sand  on  the  slopes,  till  at  length 
they  were  obliged  to  confess  that  it  looked  quite  like 
the  barren  sand  of  New  England. 

Their  elders  only  smiled  on  perceiving  their  enthusiasm, 
warning  them,  however,  not  to  go  close  to  the  cliffs ;  and 
hardly  had  the  word  been  spoken  when,  as  if  to  emphasize 
the  warning,  a  mass  of  crumbling  rock  fell  with  a  roar 
just  behind  them. 

Two  or  three  miles  of  this  kind  of  travelling  brought 
them  to  Al  King's  tent,  which  stood  to  the  left  of  the 
stream  on  a  small  level  plot.  On  the  opposite  side  a 
rocky  wall  rose  straight  from  the  water's  edge  a  hundred 


STAKING  CLAIMS  129 

feet  and  cut  off  all  view,  so  that  it  seemed  to  the  boys 
a  rather  dreary  spot.  Yet  here,  as  they  presently  learned, 
one  lone  man  had  passed  the  entire  winter,  with  no  better 
shelter  than  a  tent. 

This  man  was  the  recorder  of  the  district,  Tom  Moore 
by  name,  a  grizzled  veteran  of  many  a  hard  campaign 
of  mining  and  prospecting.  His  tent  was  near  that  of 
Al  King.  On  a  tree  before  it  had  been  nailed  a  slab  from 
a  box,  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Recorder,  Last  Chance 
Mining  District,  T.  Moore." 

The  Bradfords  received  a  hearty  welcome  from  Al  King 
and  the  recorder,  the  latter,  by  reason  of  his  long  exile, 
taking  especial  delight  in  the  sight  of  new  faces.  King's 
fine  dog  "  Bess "  was  even  more  demonstrative  in  her 
welcome  than  the  two  men,  and  bounded  from  one  to 
another  of  the  little  group,  licking  their  hands  and  re 
ceiving  their  caresses. 

In  company  with  Moore  and  King,  who  volunteered 
to  guide  them,  they  passed  the  mouth  of  Shorty  Creek,  — 
so  named  from  the  Indian  who  discovered  gold  there,  — 
a  small  brook  flowing  in  from  the  left.  Neither  of  the 
guides  thought  it  worth  while  to  stop  there,  for  the  best 
claims  were  already  taken.  They  believed  that  Alder 
Creek,  a  larger  tributary  above  on  the  same  side,  now 
offered  the  better  chance,  and  the  Bradfords  were  quite 
willing  to  take  their  advice,  since  there  appeared  no 
motive  for  deception.  Up  Alder  Creek  they  accordingly 


130     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

went,  through  a  valley  wider  and  less  rugged  than  the 
Kah  Sha  gorge  and  leading  toward  a  shapely  mountain 
about  two  miles  away,  where  the  valley  divided,  that  to 
the  right  being  known  as  Union  Gulch. 

Here  they  found  a  discovery  claim,  located  the  pre 
vious  year  by  the  miner  who  first  found  gold  on  that 
creek.  By  right  of  discovery  he  had  claimed  five  hun 
dred  feet  of  the  valley,  or  twice  the  length  of  an 
ordinary  claim,  and  naturally  he  had  chosen  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  most  promising  spot.  The  stake 
which  marked  the  upper  end  of  his  claim  was  the 
stump  of  a  poplar  tree  which  had  been  cut  off  about 
five  feet  from  the  ground.  It  stood  on  the  bank  of 
Alder  Creek  just  above  its  junction  with  Union  Gulch. 
For  a  foot  below  the  top  it  had  been  squared  with  an 
axe,  and  on  the  smooth  white  wood  was  written  in 
pencil,  "  Discovery  Claim,  five  hundred  feet,  down 
stream.  J.  Barry,  September  4,  1897."  There  was  also 
a  stake  which  marked  the  lower  end  of  the  claim. 

Uncle  Will  looked  the  ground  over  carefully.  Be 
low  Union  Gulch  was  a  level  expanse  of  gravel  ten 
feet  higher  than  the  stream  and  covered  with  snow 
except  along  the  edge  of  the  bank.  This  gravel  rested 
upon  solid  rock  at  about  the  level  of  the  water.  He 
took  the  gold-pan  and  set  out,  with  Mr.  Bradford,  the 
recorder,  and  King,  on  a  tour  of  investigation,  bidding 
the  boys  cut  stakes  similar  to  those  on  the  discovery 


"  Presently  some  little  yellow  specks  were  uncovered  " 


STAKING   CLAIMS  131 

claim.  David  and  Roly  would  have  preferred  to  go 
with  their  elders,  but  being  accustomed  to  obey  orders 
without  question  they  set  off  at  once  on  the  less 
romantic  quest  for  straight  young  poplars.  Occasion 
ally,  however,  they  paused  to  watch  the  gold-seekers 
down  the  valley. 

The  stakes  having  been  cut  and  trimmed,  the  boys 
brought  them  all  down  to  the  discovery  claim.  They 
were  four  in  number,  sufficient  for  three  adjoining 
claims. 

"What  luck,  Uncle  Will?"  shouted  Roly,  as  they 
ran  to  join  the  others. 

"Plenty  of  colors,"  answered  that  gentleman,  smiling. 
"  I  've  no  doubt  I  could  get  more  if  I  had  brought  a 
shovel.  The  gravel  is  frozen  so  hard  that  I  can't 
scrape  much  together." 

"  What  are  colors  ?  "  asked  David. 

"Colors,"  explained  his  uncle,  "are  little  thin  flakes 
of  gold,  as  distinguished  from  heavier  pieces  called 
grains  or  nuggets.  Look  in  the  pan  here,  and  you'll 
see  what  colors  are." 

In  the  bottom  of  the  pan  lay  a  small  quantity  of 
dark  sand,  which  Uncle  Will  told  them  was  called 
"black  sand"  and  consisted  mainly  of  iron.  Dipping 
up  a  little  water,  he  allowed  it  to  wash  back  and 
forth  over  the  black  sand,  and  presently  some  little 
yellow  specks  were  uncovered.  These  were  the  colors 


132     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

of  gold,  which,  being  relatively  heavier  than  even  the 
iron,  had  sifted  down  to  the  very  bottom. 

"  Hurrah !  "  cried  Holy,  joyfully,  as  he  caught  sight  of 
them,  adding  with  more  force  than  elegance,  "  that 's 
the  stuff ! " 

David,  maturer  and  less  boisterous,  was  not  a  whit 
less  pleased.  He  expressed  a  desire  to  see  how  the 
panning  was  done. 

Uncle  Will  accordingly  drew  on  his  rubber  gloves 
to  protect  his  hands  from  the  icy  water,  rinsed  out  the 
pan,  and  with  some  difficulty  scraped  together  with 
the  head  of  an  axe  a  panful  of  dirt  and  gravel  from  the 
bank  as  near  bed-rock  as  possible,  explaining  that  the 
most  gold  was  found  as  a  rule  at  the  lowest  possible 
point.  He  carried  the  gravel  to  the  edge  of  the  stream, 
where  he  allowed  the  water  to  flow  in,  not  too  swiftly, 
upon  it.  He  now  rinsed  off  and  threw  out  the  larger 
stones,  after  which  he  took  the  pan  in  both  hands  and 
shook  it  vigorously  for  a  few  seconds  with  a  circular 
motion,  finally  letting  the  water  flow  rapidly  out,  carrying 
with  it  some  lighter  portions  of  earth  and  gravel.  Then 
with  his  hands  he  pushed  out  of  the  pan  the  upper  part 
of  its  contents  to  the  depth  of  about  half  an  inch. 

Roly  was  alarmed  at  once.  "Look  out,  Uncle," 
said  he.  "  You  '11  lose  some  of  the  gold,  won't  you  ?  " 

"Not  a  bit,"  said  Uncle  Will,  complacently.  "When 
I  shook  the  pan  the  gold  went  down,  aided  by  the 


STAKING   CLAIMS  133 

water.  There  is  n't  a  single  color  in  the  top  of  this 
gravel  now." 

So  saying,  he  shook  the  pan  again  as  before,  and 
pushed  off  a  little  more  of  the  contents,  and  sometimes 
he  allowed  the  water  to  flow  in  and  out  several  times, 
carrying  with  it  on  each  occasion  the  lighter  particles. 
In  this  way  the  amount  of  gravel  was  gradually  re 
duced,  and  in  less  than  ten  minutes  there  remained 
apparently  only  a  quantity  of  black  sand  and  a  few 
pebbles.  The  latter,  Uncle  Will  deftly  removed  with 
his  thumb.  Then  he  proceeded  to  reduce  the  amount 
of  black  sand,  using  greater  caution  than  before,  and 
letting  the  water  flow  very  gently  in  and  out. 

Presently  a  yellow  speck  was  uncovered,  then  an 
other  and  another,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  boys; 
and,  best  of  all,  a  little  nugget  of  the  size  of  buck 
shot  made  its  appearance,  which  Uncle  Will  said  might 
be  worth  fifteen  cents. 

All  this  was  highly  encouraging,  for  the  Bradfords 
had  not  counted  on  a  gold  district  here  when  the 
expedition  was  planned.  It  only  remained  to  set  up 
the  stakes  and  write  the  names  and  dates  thereon.  As 
the  discovery  claim  included  only  the  upper  end  of  the 
bank  where  the  nugget  was  found,  Uncle  Will  took 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  next  below,  followed  by  Mr. 
Bradford  and  David  in  turn.  Holy,  as  we  have  said, 
was  under  eighteen,  and  had  no  license. 


134     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"  There,"  said  Uncle  Will,  when  all  was  finished  and 
the  stakes  firmly  braced  with  stones,  "  I  believe  we  've 
taken  the  cream  of  the  creek.  The  Thirty-six  will 
probably  stake  the  six  claims  next  below,  then  they 
will  have  to  leave  the  next  ten  for  the  Canadian  Gov 
ernment  and  begin  again  below  that,  and  so  on. 
There  's  no  telling  what  would  have  been  left  for  us  if 
we  hadn't  come  first." 

"  That 's  so,"  said  Tom  Moore,  with  a  grin.  "  I  guess 
ye  'd  'a'  ben  up  on  the  glacier  or  down  in  Dasar-dee- 
ash  Lake." 

The  party  camped  that  night  near  the  tents  of  King 
and  the  recorder,  the  latter  entering  the  claims  in  due 
form  and  collecting  ten  dollars  per  claim,  according  to 
law. 


A  CONFLAGRATION  135 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A    CONFLAGRATION 

WHEN  the  Bradfords  returned  to   Lake  Dasar- 
dee-ash,  they  found  Lucky,  Long  Peter,  and 
Coffee    Jack    awaiting    them   with   all    the 
supplies.     The  course  lay  across  the  lake  to  its   outlet, 
a  stream  bearing  the  Indian   name  of   "  Kaska  Wulsh," 
but  generally  known  as  the  north  branch  of   the  Alsek, 
since,   after  flowing  north   for  fifty  miles,   it  turned   to 
the   west  and    south  like    the    other  branch,   which  it 
joined  many  miles  below  Dalton's  Post. 

After  a  consultation  it  was  decided  to  cache  a  part 
of  Mr.  Bradford's  supplies,  and  all  of  Uncle  Will's  ex 
cept  certain  tools,  on  the  western  shore,  within  six 
miles  of  Kah  Sha  gorge,  for  they  would  eventually 
return  to  look  after  the  Alder  Creek  claims,  and  it  was, 
besides,  advisable  to  lighten  the  loads  and  hasten  for 
ward  before  the  snow  and  ice  were  gone.  Uncle  Will 
accordingly  took  Lucky  and  Long  Peter  and  set  out 
across  the  bay  of  the  lake  with  three  sled-loads,  leav 
ing  his  brother  and  the  boys  to  rest  after  their  labors. 
Late  in  the  evening  he  returned  and  reported  that  he 
had  built  a  strong  platform  of  saplings  high  up  be- 


136     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

tween  three  trees  and  enclosed  on  all  sides.  There  he 
had  left  the  goods  covered  with  oiled  canvas,  and  felt 
confident  that  they  would  be  safe  alike  from  dogs,  wild 
beasts,  and  stormy  weather. 

It  was  now  thought  best  to  dismiss  Long  Peter, 
since  the  remaining  thirty-five  miles  consisted  of  level 
lake  and  river,  and  furthermore  it  was  necessary  to 
husband  the  provisions.  The  Indian  seemed  sorry  to 
part  with  his  white  friends,  but  took  the  matter  good- 
naturedly,  the  more  so,  perhaps,  since  he  was  confident 
of  finding  employment  with  the  Mysterious  Thirty-six, 
who  could  not  be  far  behind.  He  left  on  the  follow 
ing  morning,  happy  with  a  present  of  a  fine  hunting- 
knife  in  addition  to  his  wages.  Uncle  Will  wished  to 
buy  his  sled,  in  order  that  Lucky  might  use  it,  but 
Long  Peter  was  unwilling  to  part  with  it,  and  Lucky 
was  obliged  as  before  to  take  turns  with  the  sleds  of 
the  others  and  act  as  general  assistant. 

The  surface  of  the  lake  proved  more  unfavorable  for 
sledding  than  was  anticipated.  Exposed  as  they  were 
to  the  uninterrupted  glare  of  the  sun,  the  snowy  ridges 
were  soft  and  slushy  except  at  night.  To  make  mat 
ters  worse,  a  north  wind  blew  strongly  in  their  faces. 
Toward  noon  they  descried  several  black  specks  on 
the  ice  to  the  rearward,  which  gained  steadily  upon 
them,  and  were  at  length  seen  to  be  three  men,  a  sled, 
and  a  team  of  dogs.  The  men  proved  to  be  the  leader 


A   CONFLAGRATION  137 

of  the  Thirty-six,  a  miner  named  Cannon,  and  a  very 
tall  native  known  as  Indian  Jack,  the  owner  and  driver 
of  the  dogs. 

The  "  Cap'n,"  as  the  leader  was  called,  gave  no  hint 
as  to  his  >  destination,  but  Uncle  Will  surmised  that  he 
was  going  forward  to  look  over  the  ground  upon  which 
he  proposed  to  locate  his  men.  He  was  willing  to  say, 
however,  that  the  rest  of  his  party  would  turn  aside  to 
Kah  Sha  River,  as  the  Bradfords  had  done,  and  that 
they  ought  to  reach  there  in  about  three  days.  Several 
of  his  men  were  sick  or  exhausted,  one  was  suffering 
from  a  sprained  ankle,  two  were  snow-blind,  another 
had  been  cut  with  an  axe,  and  still  another  had  blood- 
poisoning  in  a  ringer.  He  thought  they  might  lose  a 
day  or  two  from  these  causes.  Without  waiting  to 
talk  further,  he  gave  the  word  to  the  Indian,  who  in 
turn  cried  out  "  Chuck ! "  to  the  dogs,  and  away  they 
went  as  fast  as  they  could  walk,  much  faster  indeed 
than  the  Bradfords  could  follow.  The  Indian  guided 
the  sled  by  the  gee-pole,  but  the  dogs  did  all  the  pull 
ing,  and  tugged  vigorously  as  if  they  quite  enjoyed  it, 
—  David  meantime  catching  a  picture  of  the  whole  out 
fit  as  it  went  by,  with  the  Dasar-dee-ash  Mountains  for 
a  background. 

Not  more  than  four  miles  had  been  covered  when 
camp  was  pitched  on  the  eastern  shore  that  afternoon. 
As  the  night  promised  to  be  comparatively  warm  and 


138     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

fine,  Holy  proposed  to  his  father  that  they  should  make 
a  big  canvas  hut  with  two  tents  as  some  of  the  Thirty- 
six  had  done  at  Rainy  Hollow.  Neither  Mr.  Bradford 
nor  Uncle  Will  objected  to  humoring  the  boy,  and  the 
hut  was  set  up  forthwith  on  a  framework  of  poles,  with 
the  open  end  to  the  south  away  from  the  wind.  The 
blanket  beds  of  the  four  occupants  were  then  laid  in 
place  side  by  side  upon  spruce  boughs  strewn  on  the 
snow. 

When  supper  had  been  disposed  of,  a  roaring  fire  was 
built  before  the  open  side  of  the  hut,  filling  the  place 
with  a  cheerful  warmth  and  glow,  and  the  four  reclined 
comfortably  on  the  blankets,  telling  stories  and  watch 
ing  the  curling  smoke  and  crackling  flames,  until  Mr. 
Bradford  declared  that  if  they  did  not  turn  in,  they 
would  surely  sleep  overtime  in  the  morning,  for  there 
was  neither  cock  nor  clock  to  arouse  them  here.  Some 
thing  else  there  was,  however,  which  proved  quite  as 
effectual,  and  roused  them  long  before  daybreak. 

Roly  was  dreaming  that  he  was  at  home  and  sitting 
by  the  kitchen  stove.  Suddenly,  he  thought,  the  lids 
flew  off,  and  the  flames  rose  in  a  bright  column  to  the 
ceiling,  while  sparks  fell  all  over  him  and  about  the 
room.  He  tried  to  rise  and  alarm  the  household,  but 
some  strange  power  held  him  fast,  and  he  could 
neither  stir  nor  cry  out.  The  next  instant  he  felt  a 
thump  in  the  ribs  and  awoke  with  a  sense  of  choking, 


A   CONFLAGRATION  139 

to  hear  his  uncle  exclaiming  excitedly,  "Wake  up! 
wake  up !  everybody !  We  're  all  afire  here !  Quick, 
quick,  Charley!  Take  your  hat  or  coat  or  anything, 
and  beat  down  the  flames.  David,  Roly,  get  out  of 
this  in  a  hurry  I  " 

The  boys  grasped  the  situation  in  an  instant.  The 
wind  had  turned  to  the  south  while  they  slept,  and  a 
flying  spark  had  set  fire  to  the  canvas  over  their  heads. 
The  dry  cloth  was  now  flaming  up  brightly,  while 
burning  pieces  were  falling  on  the  blankets.  They 
jumped  up,  seized  their  caps,  and  fell  to  work  with  a 
will  to  help  their  father  and  uncle,  who  were  beating 
away  desperately  at  the  blazing  side  and  roof. 

It  was  quick,  breathless  work.  Not  only  must  they 
prevent  the  spread  of  the  flames  overhead,  but  they 
must  also  take  care  of  the  bedding  and  whatever  cloth 
ing  was  in  the  hut.  David,  after  extinguishing  the 
fire  immediately  around  him,  dropped  his  cap  and 
pulled  both  blankets  and  clothing  in  a  heap  out  into 
the  snow,  where  he  spread  them  all  out,  carefully 
quenched  the  sparks,  and  then  ran  back  to  the  hut, 
where  the  flames  were  presently  brought  under  con 
trol.  This  was  not  accomplished,  however,  until  nearly 
half  the  roof  and  all  of  one  side  were  gone. 

The  fire-fighters,  panting  and  exhausted,  gazed  rue 
fully  at  the  ruins.  It  was  too  dark  now  to  ascertain 
the  exact  amount  of  the  damage,  but  there  could  be  no 


140     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

doubt  it  was  very  serious.  No  one,  however,  was  dis 
posed  to  cry  over  spilled  milk ;  and  Uncle  Will, 
who  had  known  many  disasters  of  various  sorts  in  the 
course  of  his  rough  experience,  even  laughed  grimly 
and  declared  that  what  he  regretted  most  was  the 
singeing  of  his  beard,  of  which  he  had  lost  fully  two 
inches.  Both  men  complimented  the  boys  on  their 
efficient  work,  which  contributed  to  a  large  degree  to 
ward  the  saving  of  the  contents  of  the  hut,  as  well  as 
that  part  of  the  hut  itself  which  remained. 

"I  believe  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  slept  through  it 
all,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  peering  through  the  darkness 
toward  the  beach,  where  the  Indians  had  pitched  their 
rude  tent. 

As  he  spoke,  there  was  a  crackling  and  a  flash  of 
light  behind  the  hut. 

Not  three  feet  from  the  rear  of  the  structure  rose  a 
tall  dead  spruce.  Fire  from  the  burning  canvas  had 
been  communicated  to  a  dry  vine  leading  into  a  net 
work  of  small  branches  at  the  foot  of  this  tree,  and  a 
tiny  flame,  silent  and  unseen,  had  been  stealthily 
creeping  toward  this  mass  of  tinder. 

"Down  with  the  hut,  boys!"  cried  Uncle  Will,  in 
stantly  realizing  the  new  danger.  "  Quick,  before  it 
gets  too  hot!  Never  mind  the  tree,  —  you  can't  put 
that  fire  out !  " 

This  last   was   addressed  to   Holy,  who  had  promptly 


A  CONFLAGRATION  141 

attacked  the  burning  branches  with  his  cap,  but  only 
succeeded  in  tearing  that  article  on  the  twigs  without 
much  effect  on  the  flames. 

Knots  were  untied  with  nervous  haste,  and  where 
they  proved  refractory  they  were  cut.  That  part  of 
the  canvas  nearest  the  tree  was  first  folded  over  out  of 
harm's  way,  and  soon  the  whole  was  loosened  and 
dragged  to  a  distance,  and  none  too  soon.  The  fire 
ran  up  the  dry  twigs  with  startling  rapidity  and  a 
roar  that  presently  aroused  those  sound  sleepers,  Lucky 
and  Coffee  Jack,  who  came  running  up  in  surprise. 

The  tree  quickly  became  a  gigantic  torch  which 
lighted  up  the  country  for  miles,  and  sent  a  dense 
column  of  white  smoke  rolling  skyward.  By  good  luck 
there  were  no  other  trees  close  enough  to  be  in  danger, 
and  the  whole  party  withdrew  to  a  comfortable  distance, 
as  soon  as  the  hut  was  safe,  to  watch  the  brilliant  spec 
tacle.  The  best  part  of  it  was  soon  over,  for  the 
branches  were  presently  burned  away,  but  portions  of 
the  trunk  flamed  and  smoked  for  hours.  Nobody  but 
the  Indians  thought  of  sleeping  any  more  that  night. 
The  boys  curled  up  in  their  blankets  where  they  could 
watch  the  tree;  while  Mr.  Bradford  and  Uncle  Will, 
wrapped  in  their  heavy  coats,  sat  on  a  log  near  by,  — 
the  former  telling  stories  of  Adirondack  fires,  the  latter, 
who  never  seemed  to  have  smoke  enough,  puffing  away 
at  his  pipe. 


142     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER   XVII 

THROUGH    THE    ICE 

WITH  daylight  it  was  seen  that  the  tent  of 
David  and  Roly,  which  had  formed  the 
western  end  of  the  hut,  was  almost  wholly 
destroyed;  but  with  the  exception  of  several  holes  in  a 
corner  of  the  fly,  the  large  tent  had  escaped  injury.  This 
outcome  was  fortunate,  for  an  extra  small  tent  had  been 
provided.  As  for  the  bedding,  the  fine  gray  blankets 
were  not  harmed  in  the  least,  but  the  down  quilts,  which 
had  been  spread  over  them,  suffered  numerous  punctures 
from  the  falling  sparks,  so  that  the  feathers  flew  in 
clouds  whenever  the  quilts  were  moved,  and  it  was  nec 
essary  to  sew  up  the  holes  before  setting  out  on  the  day's 
march. 

The  outlet  of  the  lake,  which  they  reached  at  noon,  was 
a  stream  fifty  feet  in  width,  and  passed  at  first  through  a 
swampy  region.  Here,  in  the  tall  dry  marsh-grass,  there 
were  pools  of  open  water.  Camp  was  made  on  a  bluff, 
—  the  first  high  land  beyond  the  swamp.  A  warm  south 
breeze  blew  steadily,  and  Uncle  Will  said  it  was  doubtless 
the  wind  known  in  the  Pacific  States  as  the  "chinook." 
It  might  be  expected  to  continue  without  intermission 


THROUGH  THE  ICE  143 

for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  would  make  a  quick  end  of 
the  sledding.  Already  the  southern  slopes  of  the  hills 
were  bare,  and  many  of  them  were  green  with  killikinick, 
a  low  plant  with  red  berries  and  small  evergreen  leaves, 
not  unlike  those  of  garden  box. 

"I  'm  sorry  for  our  mysterious  friends,"  said  Mr.  Brad 
ford,  as  he  finished  pitching  the  large  tent.  "They'll  be 
stranded  on  bare  ground  pretty  soon." 

"That's  so,"  said  Uncle  Will.  "They'll  cross  the 
lake  all  right,  but  I  think  the  ice  will  go  out  of  this 
river  in  two  or  three  days.  We  're  none  too  soon  our 
selves.  Hello!  the  wild  geese  have  come."  He  pointed 
to  a  dozen  great  gray  birds,  flying  in  a  wedge-shaped 
flock,  and  crying,  "  Honk !  honk !  " 

"They're  coming  down,"  exclaimed  Roly,  excitedly. 
"Mayn't  I  go  over  there,  Father?  I'm  sure  I  could 
shoot  some  of  them." 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Bradford;  "but  I  '11  go  with  you, 
because  the  ice  is  treacherous  in  the  swamp,  and,  besides, 
you  are  not  quite  expert  yet  in  the  use  of  the  gun." 

"Bring  us  the  fattest  bird  in  the  flock,"  shouted  Uncle 
Will,  as  they  departed;  "and  we  '11  have  a  royal  supper." 
So  saying,  he  fell  to  mending  the  gee-pole  of  his  sled. 
With  David's  assistance,  the  pole  was  soon  as  good  as 
new. 

"Now,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "where  's  your  rifle,  Dave?" 

"Packed  on  my  sled." 


144     GOLD-SEEKING    ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"  Go  and  get  it.  I  saw  some  ducks  in  a  stretch  of  open 
water  back  here,  and  maybe  we  can  do  a  little  hunting 
on  our  own  account." 

This  proposal  tickled  David  immensely.  He  brought 
the  rifle  and  a  handful  of  cartridges,  and  the  two  set  off 
in  a  direction  not  quite  parallel  to  that  taken  by  Mr. 
Bradford  and  Roly.  A  half-mile  walk  brought  them  in 
sight  of  the  ducks,  five  of  them,  near  the  icy  edge  of  a 
small  opening;  and  by  lying  flat  on  the  ice,  they  were 
able  to  creep  and  slide  toward  them  under  cover  of  a 
clump  of  tall  reeds.  At  length  Uncle  Will  whispered 
to  David  to  take  careful  aim  at  one  of  them  and  fire. 

David  was  already  sighting  along  the  gun-barrel  —  his 
finger  on  the  trigger  —  when  the  report  of  Holy's  shot 
gun  rang  out  behind  a  small  thicket  of  willows.  The 
ducks  at  once  took  flight,  to  David's  great  disappoint 
ment,  but  at  the  same  moment  the  geese  appeared,  flying 
in  a  confused  manner  directly  toward  their  ambush. 

"Quick,  Dave,  give  me  the  gun,"  cried  Uncle  Will. 

David  instantly  passed  it  over,  and  wonderingly  watched 
his  uncle  as  he  tossed  it  up  to  his  shoulder. 

"  Bang ! "  went  the  rifle,  and  down  tumbled  a  big  bird 
from  the  centre  of  the  flock,  —  as  fine  a  fat  goose  as  ever 
graced  a  table.  David  fairly  danced  with  delight. 

"There!"  said  Uncle  Will,  with  a  merry  twinkle  in 
his  eye;  "I'll  wager  that  this  was  the  very  goose  Roly 
meant  to  kill." 


THROUGH  THE   ICE  145 

"Don't  you  think  he  shot  any,  then?"  asked  David. 

"I  fancy  the  chances  are  he  didn't." 

And  so  it  proved,  when  the  four  hunters  reunited  and 
compared  notes.      David   described    his    uncle's    marks-  < 
manship  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  Mr.  Bradford  and 
Roly  were  quite  ready  to  admit  the  brilliance  of  the  feat. 

In  two  places,  next  morning,  the  stream,  on  whose 
frozen  surface  they  travelled,  broadened  into  lakelets, 
where  progress  over  the  smooth  ice  was  rapid  and  easy, 
but  as  soon  as  these  were  passed  and  the  stream  narrowed 
again,  difficulties  appeared.  Water  was  beginning  to 
flow  over  the  ice  through  numerous  cracks,  and  as  the 
day  advanced,  many  openings  had  to  be  avoided.  Often 
the  centre  of  the  river  was  wholly  free  from  ice,  only  a 
narrow  strip  remaining  along  each  bank.  In  such  cases, 
they  proceeded  with  great  caution.  The  banks  them 
selves  were  usually  impassable,  by  reason  of  thickets  and 
trees,  and  the  ice-strips  offered  the  only  highway,  but 
they  were  tilted  at  such  an  angle  that  the  sleds  were 
constantly  slipping  sideways  toward  the  water.  At  the 
worst  spots  the  united  efforts  of  the  party  were  required 
to  move  each  load  safely  past. 

At  length  a  point  was  reached,  where  they  seemed  abso 
lutely  blocked.  The  firm  ice  on  one  side  abruptly  ended 
on  a  curve  of  the  stream,  and  it  was  necessary  to  cross 
to  the  other  side.  There  was  ice  in  the  centre  at  this 
point,  but  evidently  too  weak  to  bear  a  man's  weight. 

10 


146     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

The  boys  could  see  no  solution  of  the  problem,  except 
that  of  retracing  their  steps.  But  the  ice  in  the  centre 
had  been  weak  for  a  long  distance,  and  nobody  wished 
to  go  back  over  such  a  weary  course  on  the  slim  chance 
of  finding  a  crossing.  It  was  Mr.  Bradford  who  over 
came  this  emergency. 

"Let  us  build  a  brush  bridge,"  suggested  he.  "I 
believe  it  would  distribute  our  weight,  and  make  the 
passage  safe." 

"The  very  thing,"  said  Uncle  Will,  approvingly. 
"Strange  I  didn't  think  of  so  simple  a  scheme." 

All  hands  fell  to  work  at  once,  chopping  down  wil 
lows  and  alders.  Two  strong  poplar  saplings  were  laid 
across  the  weak  ice  three  feet  apart,  and  the  brush 
was  thrown  thickly  over  them.  The  Indians  tested  this 
rude  bridge,  and  the  others  followed,  all  passing  over  in 
safety. 

But  they  were  not  destined  to  unbroken  good  fortune. 
It  was  soon  necessary  to  cross  to  the  east  bank  again. 
This  time,  although  there  were  three  inches  of  water 
on  the  ice  in  mid-stream,  the  ice  itself  appeared  to  be 
reinforced  by  a  second  layer  which  had  been  thrust 
beneath  it.  Coffee  Jack  and  Lucky  examined  the  situa 
tion  with  care,  then  crossed  with  two  sleds.  Roly, 
David,  and  Mr.  Bradford  followed  without  mishap. 
Then  Uncle  Will,  the  heaviest  of  the  party,  attempted 
to  do  likewise;  but  in  the  very  centre  of  the  river  the 


THROUGH   THE   ICE  147 

rotten  ice  gave  way  without  a  moment's  warning,  and 
down  went  man  and  sled  into  the  cold,  muddy  water.  It 
was  deep,  too,  —  so  deep  that  Uncle  Will  did  not  touch 
the  bottom,  —  and  as  for  the  sled,  only  the  tip  of  the 
gee -pole  remained  above  the  surface.  Fortunately,  the 
current  here  was  not  swift. 

"  Stand  back,  boys ! "  commanded  Mr.  Bradford,  who 
saw  in  an  instant  the  thing  to  be  done.  Rushing  to  the 
shore,  he  cut  a  long  willow  with  one  sweep  of  his  knife, 
then,  running  to  the  edge  of  the  hole,  where  his  brother 
had  managed  to  support  himself  by  treading  water  and 
grasping  the  broken  ice-cakes,  he  held  out  the  end  of 
the  branch.  Uncle  Will  caught  this,  and  was  pulled  to 
the  edge  of  the  strong  shore-ice,  where  he  was  seized  by 
willing  hands  and  drawn  forth,  his  teeth  chattering,  but 
his  usual  undaunted  smile  still  in  evidence  as  he  re 
marked,  "  They  s-say  it 's  a  good  th-thing  to  keep  c-c-cool 
in  case  of  accident.  N-nobody  can  say  I  'm  not  c-cool!  " 

This  unexpected  sally  drew  a  burst  of  merriment  from 
the  boys,  who,  now  that  the  danger  was  over,  were  quite 
ready  to  appreciate  the  humorous  side  of  the  incident. 
They  admired  their  uncle  more  than  ever  for  his  happy 
way  of  making  light  of  discomforts. 

But  the  sled  and  its  precious  provisions  were  still  in 
the  water,  and  no  time  must  be  lost  in  rescuing  them. 
How  to  do  it,  was  the  question.  The  gee-pole  was  too 
far  from  the  strong  ice  to  be  reached.  If  the  thin  ice, 


148     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

against  which  it  rested,  were  broken,  it  would  probably 
sink  out  of  sight  altogether. 

Lucky  finally  fished  up  the  drag-rope  by  means  of  a 
long  pole,  and  thus  the  sled  was  drawn  toward  the  shore 
ice.  All  now  took  hold,  and  their  combined  strength 
sufficed  to  haul  it  out  of  the  water.  Its  load  was  quickly 
unpacked,  the  sacks  of  flour  were  set  on  end  in  the  sun 
to  drain  and  dry,  as  the  dampness  had  not  penetrated 
more  than  half  an  inch  through  the  canvas,  and  the  con 
tents  of  the  clothing  bag  were  spread  upon  a  log.  A 
bag  of  sugar  was  the  only  total  loss.  Meantime,  a  huge 
fire  was  built  on  the  bank,  in  the  warmth  of  which  Uncle 
Will  changed  his  clothing. 

Further  progress  that  day  was  unadvisable,  and  indeed, 
Uncle  Will  declared  that  if  they  had  covered  seven  miles, 
as  he  believed  was  the  case,  they  were  practically  at  their 
journey's  end. 


BUILDING  THE   CABIN  149 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

BUILDING    THE    CABIN 

A  TOUR   of  investigation  convinced  Mr.  Bradford 
that  Frying-Pan  Creek,  the   stream  for  which 
they  were  searching,  flowed  into  the  river  from 
the  right,  not  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.     Lucky  was 
familiar  with  all  the  streams  of  the  region,  but  he  was 
often  unable  to  identify  them  by  English  names,  and,  in 
this  instance,  the  white  men  were  obliged  to  base  their 
conclusions   on  a  description   of  the   district  previously 
given  to  Uncle  Will. 

The  goods  were  moved  forward  overland  to  a  low  hill 
which  sloped  gradually  to  the  creek  on  one  side,  and 
fronted  the  river  in  a  fifty-foot  bluff  on  the  other.  Here 
there  was  abundance  of  spruce  timber,  much  of  which, 
though  still  standing,  had  been  killed  by  a  forest  fire, 
and  was  perfectly  seasoned. 

Nearly  a  mile  to  the  west,  across  the  river,  was  a  long 
granite  cliff,  a  thousand  feet  or  more  in  height,  which 
limited  the  view  in  that  direction.  To  the  north,  as  they 
looked  down  the  valley,  they  beheld  two  mountains  fif 
teen  miles  away,  between  which  the  river  flowed.  The 
western  one  rose  sharply  three  thousand  feet,  the  other, 


150     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

much  greater  in  bulk,  four  thousand.  The  Indians  called 
these  elevations  Father  and  Son,  but  the  western  had 
come  to  be  known  among  white  men  as  Mount  Bratnober, 
while  the  other  was  soon  to  be  named  Mount  Champlain, 
after  a  member  of  the  Thirty-six  who  climbed  it.  From 
Mount  Champlain  on  the  north,  a  range  of  lesser  peaks 
extended  clear  around  to  the  southeast,  bounding  the 
valley  on  that  side,  and  it  was  among  these  mountains 
that  Frying-Pan  Creek  had  its  source,  five  miles  distant. 
With  so  many  landmarks,  they  felt  no  doubt  about  their 
position. 

Uncle  Will  declared  that  at  the  earliest  moment  they 
must  set  off  to  the  headwaters  of  the  creek  on  a  prospect 
ing  trip,  but  to  go  while  ice  and  snow  remained  would 
hardly  be  advisable,  so  long  as  the  Thirty-six  were  not 
in  sight.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  begin  a  log  cabin. 
The  boys,  who  had  always  cherished  a  longing  to  live  in 
the  woods  in  a  house  of  their  own  building,  hailed  this 
project  with  enthusiasm,  while  Mr.  Bradford  observed 
that  they  would  now  appreciate  the  situation  and  cir 
cumstances  of  their  ancestors  in  the  wilderness  of  New 
England. 

First  a  site  must  be  chosen,  dry,  level,  and  sheltered 
from  strong  winds.  Several  places  were  examined,  but 
only  one  of  these  satisfied  every  requirement.  It  was  a 
small  plot  of  level  ground,  free  from  trees,  near  the  top 
of  the  hill  where  it  sloped  to  the  creek.  To  the  south 


BUILDING  THE   CABIN  151 

and  west,  the  hill-top  sheltered  it,  while  to  the  northwest 
and  north  stood  tall,  dense  spruce-trees.  Eastward  the 
country  was  more  open,  and  creek,  valley,  and  mountains 
were  in  plain  view.  The  cabin  was  to  face  in  this  direc 
tion.  Its  dimensions  on  the  ground  were  to  be  eighteen 
by  twenty  feet. 

So  large  a  structure  would  hardly  have  been  planned, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  wealth  of  light,  dry  timber  around 
them.  The  weight  of  green  logs  of  the  required  size 
would  have  taxed  their  strength  most  sorely. 

Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  were  set  at  work  clearing  the 
ground  of  snow,  of  which  but  little  remained;  while  Mr. 
Bradford  and  his  brother  took  their  axes,  and  began 
to  fell  the  straightest  of  the  dead  spruces.  The  boys 
trimmed  off  such  branches  and  stubs  as  survived.  When 
ever  a  trunk  was  nearly  cut  through  on  one  side,  the 
choppers  would  give  the  warning,  and,  when  the  way  was 
clear,  a  few  strokes  on  the  other  side  brought  down  the 
forest  giant  with  a  crash. 

To  drag  the  logs  to  the  chosen  spot  was  harder  and 
took  more  time  than  the  felling.  Then  the  ends  had  to 
be  notched,  so  that  they  would  join  perfectly  at  the 
corners  of  the  cabin,  each  log  having  two  feet  of  extra- 
length  to  allow  room  for  the  notching. 

It  was  thought  the  Thirty-six  would  not  arrive  before 
the  fourth  day,  and  the  elder  Bradfords  agreed  that  it 
would  be  wise  to  drop  work  on  the  cabin  on  that  day, 


152     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

and  stake  claims  along  the  headwaters  of  the  creek.  But 
alas  for  human  calculations!  About  noon  of  the  third 
day,  voices  were  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  river,  and 
presently  six  of  the  mysterious  party  put  in  an  appear 
ance.  They  were  surprised  at  finding  the  Bradfords, 
who,  they  supposed,  had  continued  northward. 

"Hello!"  exclaimed  a  thick-set  man  with  a  reddish 
beard  sprinkled  with  gray,  —  "  how  are  you,  gentlemen  ? 
We  heard  your  axes,  and  thought  we  should  find  strangers. 
You  're  doing  the  very  thing  we  've  got  to  do." 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "but  how  in  the  world  did 
you  get  here  so  soon,  Pennock?" 

"  Oh !  we  've  been  working  like  slaves  to  get  as  far  as 
we  could  before  the  ice  went  out.  It  would  freeze  a 
little  every  night,  and  we  would  make  a  few  miles,  but 
in  the  middle  of  the  day  we  had  to  build  bridges  every 
few  rods.  Half  a  dozen  of  our  men  have  broken  through 
first  and  last,  —  sleds  too.  We  left  Patterson,  Lewis, 
Colburn,  and  Whitney,  on  the  Kah  Sha  claims,  and  now 
we  six  are  ordered  to  stop  here  and  do  some  prospecting. 
The  rest  will  try  'to  go  on." 

"Ah!"  said  Uncle  Will,  much  relieved  by  this  last 
information;  "so  the  rest  are  going  on?  Well,  I'm 
sorry  for  them.  The  ice  won't  last  two  days." 

"That's  true  as  you  live,"  replied  Pennock.  "Well, 
we  must  get  back.  We  're  camped  temporarily  just  below 
here.  Maybe  I  '11  see  you  again  this  evening." 


BUILDING  THE   CABIN  153 

"All  right,"  answered  Uncle  Will.  "Come  up  any 
time." 

"  I  believe, "  said  Mr.  Bradford,  as  soon  as  the  visitors 
were  gone,  "he  wants  to  join  forces,  at  least,  in  the 
building  of  the  house." 

"I  think  so  too,"  said  Uncle  Will.  "It  wouldn't  be 
a  bad  idea  either.  The  cabin  is  easily  big  enough  for  all 
twelve  of  us.  With  their  help,  we  can  finish  it  in  no 
time.  I  even  think  it  would  be  well  to  work  with  them 
in  prospecting,  if  they  are  agreeable.  Let 's  see  —  there 
are  only  nine  claims  to  be  taken  between  us.  We  ought 
all  to  be  able  to  get  good  ones,  if  there  are  any." 

It  was  accordingly  determined  that  evening,  by  con 
ference  with  Pennock's  party,  to  combine  for  the  present. 
To  prevent  disagreements,  the  details  of  the  arrangement 
were  drawn  up  in  writing,  Pennock  readily  engaging  to 
give  the  Bradfords  first  choice  of  claims,  for  two  reasons, 
—  first,  because  they  were  first  to  arrive,  and,  second,  in 
consideration  of  the  work  they  had  already  done  on  the 
cabin. 

Next  morning,  the  Bradfords  went  to  the  top  of  the 
bluff  overlooking  the  river,  and  saw  the  main  body  of 
the  Thirty-six,  now  reduced  to  about  twenty-five  white 
men,  and  half  a  dozen  Indians  —  including  Long  Peter  — 
resuming  their  march.  After  skirting  the  shore  on  a 
fringe  of  ice  for  some  distance,  they  made  a  short  cut 
across  a  narrow  tongue  of  land,  where  the  snow  was 


154     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

entirely  gone  and  the  sleds  could  only  be  moved  with 
the  severest  toil. 

"Flesh  and  blood  can't  stand  that  a  great  while,"  said 
Uncle  Will ;  "  especially  on  short  rations.  They  '11  have 
to  abandon  their  sleds  soon,  and  carry  what  they  can  on 
their  backs.  I  wish  I  knew  how  far  those  poor  fellows 
are  going." 

"They're  making  a  desperate  dash  for  somewhere," 
said  Mr.  Bradford,  "and  their  pluck  is  certainly  admir 
able.  I  wish  them  success  with  all  my  heart." 

"And  I  too,"  added  Uncle  Will,  emphatically. 

Work  on  the  cabin  was  resumed  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  the  walls  rose  like  magic  with  the  increased  force 
of  builders.  In  a  few  days  these  were  completed.  An 
opening  was  sawn  in  the  front  for  a  door,  and  smaller 
ones  in  each  side  for  windows,  the  sawn  ends  of  the 
logs  being  held  in  place  by  the  door-frame  and  window- 
frames,  which  consisted  of  small  hewn  strips  of  spruce 
wood  nailed  in  place.  The  roof  was  now  constructed  of 
poles  laid  side  by  side  from  the  ridge-logs  to  the  upper 
logs  of  the  front  and  rear  walls.  David  and  Eoly  gath 
ered  great  quantities  of  green  spruce  boughs,  which  were 
laid  on  the  top  of  the  roof-poles.  This  proved  to  be  a 
mistake,  but  in  the  hurry  of  building,  nobody  thought 
of  it.  Later,  as  soon  as  these  boughs  dried,  the  needles 
came  rattling  down  through  the  cracks  upon  the  slightest 
provocation,  and  were  a  great  nuisance  when  cooking  was 


BUILDING  THE  CABIN  155 

in  progress.  A  layer  of  damp  moss  should  first  have  been 
spread  upon  the  poles,  then  the  spruce,  and  finally  a  thick 
layer  of  moss  over  all.  This  upper  layer  was  duly  ap 
plied,  and  being  soft  and  spongy,  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  waterproof  quality  of  the  roof,  which  was 
rather  more  flat  than  such  a  roof  should  be.  As  an  addi 
tional  protection  against  rain,  several  tents  were  spread 
above  the  moss,  and  now  the  cabin  was  complete,  except 
for  the  "chinking,"  and  interior  furnishings. 

"  Chinking "  is  the  filling  of  the  cracks  between  the 
logs.  The  boys  soon  became  skilled  in  this  work,  and 
most  of  it  was  left  for  them  to  do,  while  the  men  were 
engaged  in  heavier  labors.  Small  dead  spruces,  slender 
and  straight  as  bean-poles,  were  first  cut  down  in  large 
numbers.  These  were  trimmed  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
the  size  and  shape  of  the  cracks,  and  driven  firmly  into 
place  with  the  blows  of  a  hatchet.  Such  crevices  as  still 
remained  were  stuffed  with  moss  and  clay. 

The  door  consisted  of  a  light  framework  of  poles,  cov 
ered  with  cheese-cloth,  of  which  Pennock  had  a  supply; 
and  the  windows  were  of  the  same  material.  Though 
not  transparent,  it  admitted  a  goodly  amount  of  light, 
and  promised  to  keep  out  insects  and  the  wind. 

Within  the  house,  a  sheet-iron  stove  was  set  up  in  the 
opening  left  for  a  fire  place,  which  was  then  enclosed 
above  and  on  the  sides  and  rear,  with  poles  set  close 
together  and  chinked,  an  aperture  being  left  for  the  stove- 


156     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

pipe.  Sleds  were  so  arranged  as  to  form  a  dining-table 
and  seats. 

The  boys  had  set  their  hearts  on  building  bunks  to 
sleep  in.  This  was  approved  of  by  their  father  and  uncle, 
since  it  was  undoubtedly  healthier  to  be  off  the  ground, 
and  they  suggested  that  two  double  bunks  be  built  in  the 
southwest  corner,  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  four. 
The  boys  were  left  to  exercise  their  own  ingenuity  in  this 
work,  and  they  succeeded  in  turning  out  two  very  good 
berths,  constructed  wholly  of  spruce  poles,  and  arranged 
like  those  of  a  steamer's  stateroom.  Soft  boughs  were 
spread  upon  the  berths,  and  then  the  blankets,  in  which 
rude  quarters  they  slept  as  comfortably  as  they  ever  had 
at  home.  The  upper  berth,  too,  served  David  as  a  shelf, 
upon  which  to  develop  his  photographs. 

This  nucleus  of  a  city  it  was  voted  to  call  Pennock's 
Post. 

How  refreshing  it  was,  as  they  surveyed  the  finished 
product  of  their  labors,  to  feel  that  they  had  reached  their 
destination,  that  there  was  no  exhausting  journey  to  be 
resumed  on  the  morrow,  and  that  at  all  times  they  could 
be  sure  of  a  warm,  dry  resting  place  with  a  roof  over 
their  heads! 


THE   FIRST   PROSPECT-HOLE  157 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE 

IT  was  now  the  first  week  in  May.  The  snow  was 
entirely  gone  from  the  lowlands,  melted  by  the 
breath  of  the  chinook.  The  creek  was  swollen 
to  twice  its  normal  size,  and  had  overflowed  its  banks  in 
many  places,  bursting  its  icy  bonds  and  stranding  the  ice- 
cakes  high  among  the  bushes.  As  for  the  river,  that, 
too,  had  freed  itself,  and  its  muddy  current  was  rising 
inch  by  inch.  On  the  mountains  they  could  almost  see 
the  snow-line  creep  higher  and  higher  each  day,  and  soon 
on  the  lesser  heights  no  snow  remained  except  in  the 
gullies,  giving  to  the  mountains  a  streaked  aspect. 

Robins  and  song-sparrows  put  in  an  appearance,  and 
ducks  were  everywhere.  On  the  very  first  warm  day, 
bees,  flies,  and  a  mosquito  or  two  were  thawed  into  life, 
and  hummed  and  buzzed  in  the  sunshine  as  if  there  had 
never  been  any  winter.  In  every  sandy  bluff  and  bank 
the  ground-squirrels,  beautifully  mottled  little  creatures, 
came  out  of  their  holes,  and  sat  up  on  their  haunches  as 
stiff  as  a  ramrod,  with  their  fore-paws  demurely  folded 
on  their  breasts,  and  sunned  themselves  and  cast  curious 
glances  at  their  new  neighbors. 


158     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

Purple  crocuses  blossomed  in  abundance,  and  every 
where  grass  was  growing  green  and  buds  were  starting. 
Spring  had  come! 

"  What  do  you  think  of  a  prospecting  trip  ? "  asked 
Uncle  Will  of  Pennock,  one  morning.  "I  believe  we 
can  sink  a  shaft  now." 

"That's  a  good  idea,"  said  Pennock.  "The  frost 
ought  to  be  out  of  the  upper  soil  by  this  time.  If  it 
isn't,  we  can  thaw  it  with  fire." 

"The  one  thing  I  don't  like  about  this  place,"  con 
tinued  Uncle  Will,  "is  that  the  creek  seems  to  be 
deserted.  We  heard  rumors  of  extraordinary  richness 
here,  and  if  there  's  any  truth  in  them,  there  ought  to 
be  some  signs  of  life  hereabouts." 

"That's  so,"  admitted  Pennock.  "It  was  Cannon 
who  advised  the  Cap'n  to  leave  a  few  men  here.  He 
said  he  sunk  a  hole  last  year  and  found  gold  enough 
to  make  it  worth  while  to  explore  more  fully.  What 
really  brought  our  party  into  this  country,  though,  was 
a  report  of  a  rich  strike  up  above.  That 's  where  the 
rest  of  them  have  gone;  but  I  don't  know  just  how  far 
it  is.' 

"Well,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "the  stories  I  heard  may 
have  been  misleading.  We  '11  see  what  there  is  here 
anyhow,  and  take  our  chances.  By  the  way,  there 's 
another  creek  to  the  southeast  yonder,  where  you  see  that 
gully  in  the  mountain.  We  might  send  a  party  there." 


THE   FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE  159 

To  this  proposition  Pennock  assented.  Accordingly 
Mr.  Bradford  and  Roly,  with  Large,  Nichols,  and  the 
two  Indians,  set  off  toward  the  gully,  which  was  about 
six  miles  distant,  while  Uncle  Will,  David,  Pennock, 
Reitz,  Adair,  and  Johnson  started  for  the  headwaters 
of  the  creek  beside  which  they  had  camped,  —  a  jour 
ney  of  four  miles.  We  may  as  well  follow  the  fortunes 
of  the  latter  party. 

There  was  no  trail  worthy  of  the  name,  but  once  or 
twice  hoof-marks  were  discovered,  probably  made  by 
Cannon's  pack  horse  the  previous  season.  Sometimes 
they  entered  forests  of  standing  spruce  and  poplar,  either 
growing  or  fire-killed,  and  now  it  was  a  district  of  fallen 
trees,  where  it  was  almost  impossible  to  advance,  from 
which  they  emerged  with  a  sigh  of  relief  into  some  open 
grassy  meadow  near  the  stream,  where  walking  was  pleas 
ant  and  easy.  Presently  they  ascended  a  clay  bluff  a 
hundred  feet  high,  skirting  its  edge  where  it  was  free 
from  timber.  From  this  vantage  ground  they  could  see 
the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Dasar-dee-ash  Mountains,  thirty 
miles  to  the  south,  on  the  other  side  of  which  lay  the 
claims  they  had  taken  in  April.  Uncle  Will  examined 
the  fine  clay  of  the  bluff,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
it  would  make  excellent  bricks  and  pottery. 

In  an  hour  and  a  half,  they  came  to  the  foot-hills, 
where  the  stream  fell  noisily  over  a  bed  of  boulders  in 
a  pretty  glen.  A  sharp  lookout  was  kept,  but  no  signs 


160     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

of  Cannon's  work  were  seen.  At  length  it  was  decided 
to  sink  a  hole  on  the  south  bank  where  a  bed  of  gravel 
had  been  deposited  by  the  water.  From  the  nature  of 
the  rocks  about  them,  they  concluded  that  bed-rock  was 
not  far  below  the  surface.  Picks,  shovels,  and  a  gold- 
pan  had  been  brought,  and  the  men  took  turns  at  the 
digging.  It  was  hard  work,  for  many  large  stones  were 
encountered  frozen  into  their  places,  and  these  could  only 
be  pried  loose  at  risk  of  a  bent  pick.  When  a  depth  of 
twelve  inches  was  reached,  Pennock  filled  the  pan  with 
a  sample  of  the  gravel,  and  took  it  to  the  stream,  while 
the  others,  except  Adair,  who  was  swinging  the  pick, 
gathered  around  him,  eager  to  know  the  result  of  the 
test.  Not  a  color  was  found,  but  there  was  black  sand 
and  in  it  two  small  rubies. 

The  discovery  of  the  rubies  did  not  seem  to  offset  the 
disappointment  of  the  men  at  finding  no  gold,  —  a  fact 
at  which  David  wondered,  until  his  uncle  informed  him 
that  those  gems  were  quite  commonly  found  in  the  North 
west,  and  such  small  ones  were  of  little  value.  David 
resolved,  however,  to  look  about  for  himself,  and,  in  a 
mound  of  sand  thrown  up  by  ants,  he  found  a  dozen  or 
more,  some  of  them  a  little  larger  than  the  ones  in  the 
pan.  These  he  carefully  picked  out,  and  put  in  his 
match-box  for  safe  keeping. 

Meanwhile,  the  work  in  the  prospect-hole  went  steadily 
on.  At  a  depth  of  two  feet  a  small  color  was  found,  by 


THE  FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE  161 

which  time  it  was  noon,  and  work  ceased  for  an  hour. 
By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  hole  was  three  feet 
and  a  half  deep,  and  solid  rock  was  gained,  though 
toward  the  last  so  much  water  entered  that  digging  was 
difficult,  and  bailing  had  to  be  resorted  to.  At  the  bed 
rock,  where  all  their  hopes  rested,  were  found  a  few 
insignificant  colors,  — nothing  more. 

Uncle  Will,  usually  so  cheerful,  was  quite  downcast 
at  this  result.  He  had  heard  the  rumors  of  gold  from 
men  whom  he  trusted,  and  was  obliged  to  conclude  that 
they  had  themselves  been  misled.  Indeed,  it  seemed  to 
be  one  of  those  instances  in  which  a  very  small  tale,  by 
long  travelling  and  frequent  repetition,  becomes  strangely 
magnified  and  distorted.  The  Thirty-six  had  detached 
few  men  here  because  the  story,  as  they  had  heard  it, 
had  located  the  wealth  in  a  different  place.  Still  there 
might  be  a  good  deal  of  gold  on  this  creek,  for  a  single 
hole  is  usually  not  enough  to  determine  the  character  of 
a  gulch.  At  least  one  more  shaft  must  be  sunk  where 
the  gravel  was  deeper,  before  all  hope  need  be  abandoned. 
Even  if  worst  came  to  worst,  there  still  remained  the 
Alder  Creek  claims,  and  Lucky's  nugget. 

It  turned  out  that  the  other  party,  under  Mr.  Bradford, 
bad  met  with  even  less  success.  Rubies  they  had  found, 
but  not  a  single  color  of  gold.  However,  they  had  not 
reached  bed-rock  at  the  end  of  the  first  day. 

Uncle  Will  and  his  companions  returned  to  the  cabin 

11 


162     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  D ALTON  TRAIL 

a  few  minutes  before  the  others.  Seated  on  the  ground 
outside  the  door,  they  found  an  Indian  family,  consist 
ing  of  an  old  bent  squaw,  two  young  women,  and  a 
thin,  weak-looking  young  man.  The  old  squaw,  evi 
dently  the  mother  of  the  others,  waved  her  arms  in  token 
of  welcome  as  soon  as  she  saw  the  white  men.  Then, 
touching  the  young  man's  breast  she  exclaimed,  "Him 
sick,  you  savvy?" 

"Sick,  is  he?"  repeated  Uncle  Will,  looking  at  the 
pinched  features  and  wasted  frame. 

"  Sick  —  yis  —  you  savvy  [understand]  ?  "  said  the 
squaw. 

"Consumption,"  said  Uncle  Will  to  David.  "It's 
very  prevalent  among  the  Indians,  and  carries  off  hun 
dreds."  Then  turning  to  the  old  Indian  woman  he 
added,  "  I  savvy,  —  very  bad,  very  sick.  Have  some 
tea?" 

"Tea!  Yis,  yis,"  answered  she,  eagerly,  for  tea  is  con 
sidered  a  great  luxury  by  the  Indians,  and  this  family, 
dressed  in  ragged,  cast-off  clothing,  seemed  too  abjectly 
poor  to  buy  anything  at  the  trading-post.  Indeed,  the 
only  food  they  had  was  dried  salmon,  though  the  man 
carried  an  antiquated  shot-gun. 

Uncle  Will  made  some  tea,  and  the  natives  drank  it 
delightedly  in  the  cabin,  which  they  entered  without 
invitation  as  soon  as  the  door  was  opened. 

It  must  be  explained  here  that  the  door  was  fastened 


THE   FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE  163 

by  a  sliding  pole  which  ran  some  distance  along  the 
inner  side  of  one  of  the  front  logs,  and  was  held  in  place 
by  wooden  pegs.  The  pole  was  shoved  across  the  door 
by  means  of  a  knife-blade  inserted  from  the  outside 
between  two  logs  at  a  crevice  left  for  the  purpose  five 
feet  from  the  door.  In  this  manner  the  door  had  been 
locked  that  morning  when  the  two  parties  set  off.  Doubt 
less  the  Indians  had  tried  the  door ;  but  finding  it  secure, 
and  seeing  no  means  of  opening  it,  they  had  not  ven 
tured  to  break  in,  but  waited  for  the  return  of  the  miners. 

Both  Uncle  Will  and  Pennock  realized  the  desirability 
of  keeping  the  secret  of  the  lock  from  the  visitors,  and 
this  they  attempted  to  do  when  the  door  was  opened, 
Uncle  Will  attracting  the  attention  of  the  Indians,  while 
Pennock  softly  stole  up  to  the  crevice  and  pried  back  the 
bar. 

But  though  the  natives  did  not  see  the  door  opened, 
they  intended  none  the  less  to  know  how  it  was  done, 
and  'that  was  why  they  so  promptly  entered  the  cabin 
with  the  others.  However,  the  white  men  thought  it 
best  to  say  nothing,  for  it  might  be  that  they  would 
drink  their  tea  and  go  out  without  noticing  the  door. 
Pennock,  who  was  a  Colorado  man  and  had  no  liking 
for  the  "redskins,"  kept  an  eye  on  them  from  the  mo 
ment  of  their  entrance. 

The  old  squaw,  after  a  quick  inventory  of  the  contents 
of  the  cabin,  glanced  furtively  toward  the  door,  and  at 


164     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

once  discovered  the  long  bar,  but  she  did  not  know 
exactly  how  it  was  managed.  So  presently  she  shuffled 
unconcernedly  up  to  the  front  of  the  cabin,  and,  turning 
about,  faced  the  centre  of  the  room.  To  all  appearances, 
she  was  idly  leaning  against  the  logs,  but  both  Pennock 
and  David  noticed  that  her  hands  behind  her  back  were 
busily  fumbling  with  the  bar,  and  moving  it  cautiously 
back  and  forth.  The  "game  was  up."  Knowing  the 
existence  of  the  bar,  and  its  height  from  the  ground,  she 
would  easily  discover  from  the  outside  the  crevice  through 
which  it  was  controlled. 

"  The  rascally  old  witch  of  an  Injun ! "  muttered  Pen- 
nock  through  his  teeth;  but  he  knew  it  was  of  no  use 
now  to  make  a  fuss.  He  broke  out  violently,  however, 
when  the  visitors  were  gone  and  it  was  discovered  that 
a  nearly  empty  butter-can  outside  the  house  had  disap 
peared  with  them. 

"They're  all  sneak-thieves,  every  one  of  'em,"  he 
declared  angrily;  "and  the  worst  of  it  is  that  the  old 
squaw  learned  the  secret  of  our  lock.  I  saw  her  fum 
bling  round.  Now  we  've  got  to  leave  somebody  here 
every  time  we  go  away.  I  'd  just  like  to  — !  " 

This  sounded  very  much  like  the  preface  to  a  dire 
threat ;  but  Mr.  Bradford,  who  had  arrived  some  minutes 
previously,  interrupted  it  by  observing  that  the  Indians 
would  not  be  likely  to  take  food  or  clothing. 

"No,"   said    Uncle   Will.      "They'll   make  off    with 


THE   FIRST  PROSPECT-HOLE  165 

empty  cans,  or  any  little  thing  they  think  won't  be 
missed,  but  they  would  n't  take  goods  of  value.  That 's 
too  dangerous  in  this  country.  Besides,  we  've  treated 
them  well,  and  they  're  pretty  low-down  creatures  if  they 
steal  from  us  now." 

"All  the  same,"  said  Pennock,  "there  was  half  an  inch 
of  good  butter  in  that  can,  and  I  was  intending  to  make 
a  coffee  cup  of  it  as  soon  as  it  was  empty.  They  're 
a  shrewd  lot,  if  they  are  dirty  and  ignorant.  I  hope 
they've  gone  for  good." 

It  was  a  vain  hope.  A  little  later,  a  column  of  smoke 
half  a  mile  up  the  trail  northward  showed  that  they  had 
camped. 


166     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XX 

ROLY  GOES  DUCK-HUNTING 

FOR  many  days,  no  game   of  any  kind  had  been 
secured  in  abundance,  and  Uncle  Will,  who  saw 
the  pork  and    bacon  disappearing  too    rapidly, 
cast  about  for  some  means   of  eking  out  the  supplies. 
With  this  end  in  view,  he  prevailed  upon  his  brother 
to  let  Roly  spend  a  day  in  hunting,  knowing  full  well 
that  nothing  would  please  the  lad  more.     Roly  had  been 
careful  with  the  shot-gun,  and  had  fairly  earned  this 
privilege. 

The  days  in  that  high  latitude  were  now  so  long  that, 
even  at  midnight,  there  was  a  twilight  glow  over  the 
summits  of  Father  and  Son  in  the  north.  At  three  in  the 
morning,  it  was  broad  daylight,  and  Roly,  as  he  awoke 
into  delightful  anticipations,  heard  the  "  quack,  quack  " 
of  big  brown  mallards,  and  the  whistling  wings  of  smaller 
ducks,  as  they  flew  to  their  feeding  grounds.  He  was 
out  of  the  bunk  in  an  instant,  and  slipping  on  his  jacket 
and  long  rubber  boots,  which,  with  his  cap,  were  the  only 
articles  needed  to  complete  his  attire,  he  snatched  a  hasty 
breakfast,  put  a  piece  of  corn-bread  in  his  pocket,  and 
then,  gun  in  hand,  softly  opened  the  cabin  door,  and 


HOLY  GOES  DUCK-HUNTING  167 

stole  out  into  the  fresh  morning  air.  The  joy  of  youth 
was  in  his  heart,  and  a  sense  of  freedom  and  adventure 
came  with  the  thought  of  hunting  all  alone  in  that  great 
wide  valley,  and  made  the  blood  tingle  to  his  finger-tips. 

There  were  ponds  and  marshes  in  every  direction,  but 
Eoly  decided  to  cross  the  river  and  walk  southward,  for 
he  observed  several  ducks  flying  that  way.  He  therefore 
made  his  way  down  the  face  of  the  bluff,  through  the 
sliding  sand  to  the  river-bank,  where  a  raft  of  three  logs 
had  been  moored.  Loosing  this  unwieldy  craft,  he  laid 
the  unloaded  gun  upon  it,  then  seized  the  long  push- 
pole,  and  sprang  on  board.  It  required  considerable 
effort  to  free  the  lower  end  of  the  raft  from  the  mud, 
but  finally  it  swung  out  into  the  stream.  Roly  pushed 
and  paddled  lustily  for  some  moments  before  he  suc 
ceeded  in  urging  the  heavy  affair  to  the  farther  shore, 
for  the  current  was  strong  and  carried  him  down  the 
stream  fully  two  hundred  yards.  He  fastened  the  raft 
to  a  clump  of  alders,  picked  up  the  gun,  and  set  off  up 
the  stream  to  the  south,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  any 
kind  of  game. 

After  penetrating  a  tangled  thicket,  he  saw  that  he  was 
coming  out  upon  a  long,  open  swamp.  There  might  be 
ducks  here,  and  he  paused  to  look  carefully  at  two  or 
three  pools  which  gleamed  at  some  distance.  Seeing 
nothing,  however,  he  skirted  the  edge  of  the  swamp  to 
the  higher  wooded  land  beyond,  where  he  was  startled 


168     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

by  the  sudden  chattering  of  a  red  squirrel  in  a  spruce 
over  his  head.  He  could  have  shot  the  squirrel  easily, 
but  felt  it  would  be  unmanly  to  kill  any  creature  wan 
tonly.  The  little  animal  was  too  small  to  have  much 
value  as  food,  and,  besides,  cartridges  were  precious.  So 
he  passed  on,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  larger  game. 

On  every  sandy  bank  the  ground-squirrels  sat,  and 
while  they  were  larger  than  the  red  squirrels,  they  were 
very  lean  after  their  long  winter  sleep.  They  were 
plentiful  near  the  cabin,  and  Roly  thought  he  could  catch 
them  with  traps  or  snares,  as  soon  as  they  were  in  better 
condition.  For  the  present,  therefore,  the  ground-squir 
rels  were  also  left  in  peace. 

Everywhere  were  traces  of  rabbits,  but  no  rabbits  were 
to  be  seen.  Lucky  had  explained  this  one  day  by  saying, 
"Rabbit  come  bime-by  —  plenty  rabbit  —  all  gone  now," 
—  which  Mr.  Bradford  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  ani 
mals  migrated  from  place  to  place,  and  at  some  seasons 
would,  no  doubt,  fairly  overrun  the  country,  while  at 
other  times  they  would  be  very  scarce. 

At  length  Roly  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  long,  swampy 
pond  between  the  trees  ahead,  and  on  its  smooth  surface, 
near  the  centre,  he  could  see  three  ducks,  one  small,  the 
others  larger  and  of  a  dark-brown  color,  —  doubtless  mal 
lards.  Hardly  had  he  made  this  discovery,  and  paused 
to  consider  how  he  should  approach,  when  up  flew  two 
little  ducks,  one  variegated,  and  the  other  an  even  brown, 


ROLY  GOES  DUCK-HUNTING  169 

—  the  male  and  female,  —  from  a  near  arm  of  the  pond 
which  had  escaped  his  notice.  The  boy  trembled,  lest 
the  other  three  should  also  be  alarmed ;  but  they  went  on 
dipping  their  bills  under  the  water  quite  unconcernedly, 
while  the  small  one  occasionally  dived. 

Near  the  bank  stood  a  green  spruce,  the  branches  of 
which  came  thickly  down  to  the  ground  on  the  side 
toward  the  water,  forming  a  splendid  cover.  Roly 
thought  that  if  he  could  only  reach  this  tree,  it  would 
be  an  easy  matter  to  bag  a  duck  or  two,  so  he  started 
cautiously  on  tiptoe,  keeping  the  tree  between  himself 
and  the  birds.  But  there  were  many  dry  twigs  and  little 
bushes  in  the  space  over  which  he  had  to  pass,  and  the 
two  mallards  —  most  wary  of  Alaskan  ducks  —  presently 
took  alarm  at  the  almost  imperceptible  crackling  on  the 
shore.  Up  they  flew,  quacking  loudly,  and  making  a 
wide  sweep  in  Roly's  direction,  so  that  he  felt  sure  he 
could  have  shot  one  of  them  on  the  wing.  Indeed,  he 
would  have  tried  it,  had  not  his  father  given  strict  orders 
to  the  contrary.  Cartridges  were  too  precious  here  to  be 
spent  on  experiments.  Roly  had  never  practised  wing- 
shooting,  and  his  father  knew  he  would  waste  a  great 
deal  of  ammunition  before  acquiring  the  knack.  Where 
sport  was  the  object,  not  food,  and  ammunition  was 
plentiful,  Mr.  Bradford  would  have  advised  his  son  to 
shoot  only  at  birds  on  the  wing,  that  being  more  sports 
manlike,  and  giving  the  birds  a  chance.  But  here  it 


170     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

was  simply  a  matter  of  food,  and  every  cartridge  must 
count. 

Holy,  therefore,  after  one  longing  look  at  the  now  dis 
tant  mallards,  crept  up  under  the  tree,  and,  kneeling  on 
the  moss,  took  aim  through  an  opening  in  the  branches 
at  the  small  duck,  which  seemed  much  less  timid  than 
the  others,  though  it  had  paddled  a  short  distance  toward 
the  farther  shore.  There  was  a  puff  of  smoke,  and  the 
report  rang  out  sharply  on  the  still  morning  air.  The 
duck  flopped  once  or  twice,  then  lay  motionless  on 
the  water,  on  perceiving  which,  Roly  executed  an  imme 
diate  triumphal  war-dance  under  the  tree. 

It  was  now  a  question  whether  the  pleased  youngster 
could  secure  his  prize.  The  wind  was  too  light  to  blow 
it  ashore,  and  the  longest  pole  he  could  use  would  not 
be  long  enough.  The  water  looked  dark  and  deep,  but 
at  least  he  would  try  it;  so,  pulling  up  his  rubber  boots 
to  their  full  length,  he  stepped  carefully  out  into  the 
pond.  To  his  surprise,  he  found  that  the  mud  on  the 
bottom  was  solidly  frozen,  and  the  water  was  nowhere 
more  than  two  feet  deep.  The  duck  was  therefore 
quickly  reached  and  brought  back  to  the  tree,  where 
the  young  hunter  ambushed  himself  again  to  await 
developments. 

He  now  bethought  him  of  the  empty  shell  in  his  gun, 
and  had  hardly  thrown  it  out,  preparatory  to  snapping 
another  into  place,  when  two  fine  mallards  appeared  from 


HOLY  GOES  DUCK-HUNTING  171 

the  southward,  and  plumped  heavily  down  upon  the 
water,  not  thirty  feet  from  his  hiding  place.  Alas  that, 
of  all  times,  the  cartridge  should  stick  at  that  golden 
moment !  But  stick  it  did,  refusing  to  go  in,  or  even  to 
come  out  again.  Roly  fairly  bit  his  lips  with  vexation, 
and  tugged  with  nervous  fingers  at  the  mechanism  of  the 
breech,  keeping  an  eye  on  the  ducks  all  the  while,  and 
trying  to  be  as  quiet  as  possible.  It  was  all  to  no  pur 
pose.  A  bit  of  dirt  had  found  its  way  in  somewhere,  and 
he  had  to  shake  the  gun  violently  before  the  cartridge 
would  move.  The  mallards  could  not  be  expected  to 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  this  commotion.  They  raised  their 
heads,  and  then  with  one  impulse  fluttered  up  and  away, 
and  poor  Roly  nearly  cried,  as  the  obstinate  cartridge 
slipped  easily  in,  ere  the  birds  were  fairly  out  of  sight. 

It  was  yet  early,  however,  and  the  lad  knew  that  he 
had  only  to  wait  patiently,  to  find  another  chance.  He 
could  occasionally  hear  the  whistle  of  wings  as  a  flock 
flew  past,  and  sometimes  he  could  see  the  birds  from  his 
covert.  He  had  watched  and  waited  a  half  hour,  when 
four  ducks  settled  down  at  the  remote  end  of  the  pond. 
They  were  out  of  range,  but  soon  began  to  come  closer. 
Two  were  like  those  he  had  first  frightened  from  the  nar 
row  arm  of  the  marsh,  small  in  size,  the  male  brightly 
plumaged,  the  female  a  smooth  brown.  It  was  a  male  of 
this  species  which  he  had  shot.  The  other  two  seemed 
much  larger,  but  in  other  respects  almost  exactly  like 


172     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

their  companions.     They  kept  quite  near  each  other,  and 
splashed  or  dived  unconscious  of  danger. 

Roly  watched  his  opportunity,  hoping  they  would  bunch 
together,  so  that  he  might  kill  more  than  one  at  a  shot. 
He  had  not  long  to  wait.  As  they  came  in  range,  the 
two  larger  birds  and  the  smaller  female  were  exactly  in 
line,  one  beyond  another.  It  was  the  favorable  moment. 
He  aimed  at  the  middle  one  and  fired. 

The  small  male  duck,  which  had  been  out  of  the  line, 
seemed  bewildered  rather  than  frightened  by  the  noise. 
He  dived,  came  up  at  a  distance,  and  paddled  away  with 
out  taking  flight.  The  two  larger  birds  were  instantly 
killed,  while  the  small  female  beyond  was  crippled,  and 
fluttered  around  in  a  circle.  Roly  felt  justified  in  using 
another  cartridge  at  once  to  put  her  out  of  suffering. 
Then  he  waded  out  and  brought  in  his  prizes,  the  fourth 
duck  having  escaped  into  the  swamp-grass. 

He  wondered  if  the  others  back  at  the  cabin  had  heard 
the  shots.  It  was  not  unlikely,  for  they  would  be  stir 
ring  by  this  time.  Having  seated  himself  again,  he  fell 
to  thinking  over  the  strange  life  he  had  been  leading  for 
the  past  two  months,  so  different  from  that  at  home.  His 
reverie  was  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  a  fine  mallard, 
which  was  bagged  without  delay. 

No  more  ducks  visited  the  pond,  though  he  waited  until 
the  middle  of  the  morning,  when  they  ceased  flying.  He 
therefore  prepared  to  return.  The  legs  of  the  birds  were 


ROLY  GOES   DUCK-HUNTING  173 

tied  together,  and  they  were  slung  over  the  barrel  of  the 
gun,  which  he  then  raised  to  his  shoulder,  and  found  he 
had  something  of  a  burden. 

But  he  was  destined  to  carry  still  more.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  when  he  heard  the  clucking  of  a  ptarmigan 
in  the  woods  to  his  left,  so  leaving  the  ducks  where  he 
could  easily  find  them,  he  stole  softly  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound.  The  clucking  soon  seemed  very  near,  —  so 
near  that  he  did  not  dare  to  go  a  step  farther,  for  fear 
of  frightening  the  bird,  but,  look  as  he  would,  he  could 
see  nothing  of  it.  He  scanned  the  ground  for  a  glimpse 
of  white,  forgetting  entirely  that  the  ptarmigan  becomes 
brown  when  the  snow  disappears,  and  was  just  giving  up 
in  despair  when  he  sighted  the  bird  perched  on  the  dead 
branch  of  a  tree  across  a  little  glen.  And,  what  was  bet 
ter,  there  were  two  in  the  tree.  Holy  manoeuvred  till  he 
had  the  birds  in  line,  and  it  was  such  an  easy  shot  that 
both  fell  stone  dead  at  once,  amid  a  shower  of  feathers. 

"  Well  done,  Roly,  my  boy !  "  said  Mr.  Bradford,  heart 
ily,  when  the  prospectors  returned  late  that  afternoon 
and  found  Roly's  bunch  of  birds.  "  Let 's  see,  here  's  a 
mallard,  two  golden-eyes,  two  little  butter-balls,  and  two 
ptarmigan,  —  seven  birds  in  all.  And  how  many  shots 
did  you  fire?" 

"Five,"  said  Roly,  with  pardonable  pride.  "There 
were  no  large  flocks  to  fire  into,  but  I  meant  to  make 
every  shot  tell." 


174     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   D ALTON   TRAIL 

"Yes,"  said  his  father,  "and  you've  done  very  well, 
especially  for  a  beginner." 

"  And  how  many  did  you  get,  Johnson  ? "  asked  Uncle 
Will.  Johnson  had  been  on  a  similar  errand  for  the  other 
party. 

"Five  ducks  and  a  white  rabbit,"  was  the  reply.  "On 
the  whole,  Roly  has  carried  off  the  honors,  for  I  fired  six 


So  the  campers  obtained  fresh  meat,  and  all  were  very 
glad  to  abstain  awhile  from  bacon.  Both  Roly  and  David 
went  duck-hunting  often  after  that,  and  always  with  good 
success  throughout  the  migrating  season. 


LAST   DAYS   AT  PENNOCK'S  POST  175 


CHAPTER   XXI 

LAST  DAYS  AT  PENNOCK's  POST 

THE  Indian  family  hung  about  the  premises  more 
or  less,  hoping,  no  doubt,  for  more  tea  or  another 
butter-can.     They  set  steel  traps  in  the  neighbor 
ing  sand-banks,  and  caught  many  ground-squirrels,  some 
of  which  they  offered  to  the  white  men  for  twenty-five 
cents  a  pair;  but  while  ducks,  ptarmigan,  and  occasion 
ally  a  wild  swan  or  rabbit  could  be   shot,  no  one  was 
inclined  to  buy.     David  and  Roly  thought,  however,  that 
it  would  do  no  harm  to  catch  ground-squirrels  for  them 
selves,  and  they  set  about  making  snares. 

These  were  simple,  and  consisted  of  a  strong  but  slen 
der  willow  branch,  fixed  firmly  in  the  bank  high  above 
the  hole  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  a  stronger  stick 
similarly  set  between  the  other  and  the  hole,  and  a  piece 
of  string  with  a  slip-noose  at  one  end.  The  other  end  of 
the  string  was  tied  to  the  extremity  of  the  upper  willow 
branch,  which  was  then  bent  down  until  the  noose  hung 
over  the  hole.  A  small  loop,  slipped  over  the  point  of 
the  lower  stick,  held  the  noose  in  position. 

All  being  ready,  it  was  expected  that  Mr.  Squirrel, 
coming  out  to  take  an  airing,  would  run  his  head  through 


176     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

the  noose,  carrying  it  along  with  him  until  the  loop 
slipped  from  the  lower  stick,  thus  releasing  the  elastic 
upper  stick,  which  would  jerk  poor  Mr.  Squirrel  into  the 
air,  and  hang  him  for  no  greater  fault  than  his  ignorance. 
The  theory  was  perfect,  but  in  practice  Mr.  Squirrel 
displayed  more  cleverness  than  he  had  been  given  credit 
for.  Sometimes  he  pushed  the  noose  aside,  and  again 
he  would  slip  through  it,  and  though  occasionally  a  snare 
was  sprung,  the  denizens  of  the  sand-bank  always  man 
aged  to  get  away. 

The  boys  therefore  decided  to  try  to  buy  two  traps  from 
the  Indians;  and  one  day,  when  the  whole  family  was 
present,  David  gave  them  to  understand  by  signs  what 
was  wanted.  He  shut  his  hands  together  with  a  snap, 
then  held  up  two  fingers.  The  old  squaw  quickly  nodded 
her  head,  and  jabbered  some  unintelligible  gutturals, 
which  might  have  been  taken  for  a  fit  of  choking,  but 
it  was  evident  that  she  was  willing  to  sell  two  traps,  and 
on  the  following  day  she  brought  them. 

"Probably,"  said  David,  as  he  gave  her  two  fifty-cent 
pieces,  "she  is  giving  me  the  oldest  and  rustiest  she  has." 

"Yes,"  said  Pennock,  "you  can  depend  upon  that. 
Better  see  if  they  '11  work,  before  you  buy  'em." 

The  boys  therefore  snapped  them  once  or  twice,  to 
make  sure  that  they  were  in  order. 

"Now,"  said  Roly,  "we  must  get  her  to  show  us  how 
to  set  them  in  the  holes,"  —  whereupon  he  made  a  number 


LAST   DAYS  AT  PENNOCK'S  POST  177 

of  signs,  which  she  quickly  comprehended.  She  took  the 
traps  to  the  nearest  hole  and  placed  them  in  the  entrance, 
covering  them  with  dry  grass,  so  that  the  animals  would 
not  hesitate  to  walk  over  them.  The  traps  proved  so  old 
and  worn  that  very  few  squirrels  were  caught  at  first, 
but  Mr.  Bradford  doctored  them  one  day  with  a  file,  after 
which  they  were  quite  effective. 

Not  many  days  later,  the  old  squaw  fell  ill,  and  her 
consumptive  son  and  one  of  her  daughters  came  down  in 
haste  to  the  cabin,  in  the  hope  that  the  white  men  would 
aid  them.  It  chanced  that  no  one  was  at  home  but  Pen- 
nock,  he  who  most  of  all  detested  the  Indians. 

The  young  woman,  by  signs  and  the  few  English  words 
she  knew,  made  known  the  state  of  the  case,  and  urged 
the  white  man  to  come  in  person,  while  her  brother,  with 
a  sweep  of  the  hand  toward  the  east,  repeated  the  word 
"  gold  "  over  and  over.  He  well  knew  what  white  men 
most  covet.  Pennock,  however,  did  not  believe  the  In 
dian  knew  any  more  about  gold  than  he  did.  Further 
more,  he  was  not  a  medical  man,  and  felt  that  he  could 
do  no  good  by  visiting  the  patient.  But  he  made  out 
that  the  trouble  was  a  cough,  and  so  without  more  ado 
he  looked  over  his  slender  stock  of  medicines  and  picked 
out  a  mustard  plaster,  which  he  gave  to  the  young  woman, 
showing  her  by  signs  to  dampen  it  and  lay  it  on  her 
mother's  chest.  The  two  Indians  appeared  genuinely 
grateful  for  the  plaster,  and  offered  fifty  cents  in  pay- 

12 


178     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

ment,  which  of  course  Pennock  refused.  So  they  went 
off  with  light  hearts,  to  try  the  white  man's  remedy. 

"Ah!"  exclaimed  Uncle  Will  later,  when  Pennock 
related  what  he  had  done;  "for  all  your  blustering  the 
other  day,  you  've  a  soft  spot  under  your  waistcoat,  I  see. 
That 's  what  I  call  returning  good  for  evil." 

"Maybe  it  was,"  said  Pennock.  "I  couldn't  refuse 
the  poor  wretches."  . 

Whether  the  mustard  plaster  proved  effective  or  not, 
the  dwellers  in  the  cabin  never  knew,  for  a  day  or  two 
later  the  Indians  disappeared,  probably  continuing  their 
journey  toward  Hootchi,  a  Stik  village  fifty  miles  to  the 
north. 

For  a  time  nothing  was  learned  of  the  fortunes  of  the 
large  party  which  had  toiled  down  the  valley  in  April, 
beyond  the  fact  that  they  had  not  been  able  to  drag  their 
sleds  more  than  three  miles.  This  news  was  brought  by 
one  of  their  number,  who  said  that  the  sleds  and  most 
of  the  goods  had  been  cached,  and  he  had  been  left  in 
charge.  The  others  had  taken  from  fifty  to  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-five  pounds,  according  to  their  size  and 
strength,  and  had  pushed  ahead. 

A  few  small  bands  of  Indians  visited  the  cabin,  but  as 
they  came  from  the  south  they  had  no  news  of  the  gold- 
seekers.  With  one  of  these  bands  were  two  dogs  of 
moderate  size,  staggering  under  loads  of  forty  and  fifty 
pounds,  while  their  lazy  masters  carried  absolutely  noth- 


LAST  DAYS  AT  PENNOCK'S  POST  179 

ing  but  the  clothes  they  wore.  Another  party  brought 
fresh  whitefish,  which  they  bartered  for  flour  and  coffee. 
Four  cups  of  flour  and  a  pound  of  coffee  were  accepted  in 
exchange  for  seven  fish,  and  both  parties  seemed  pleased 
with  the  bargain. 

This  incident  prompted  the  Bradford  boys  to  fish  in  the 
creek  and  river,  but  they  met  with  no  success,  and  con 
cluded  that  it  was  yet  too  early.  Coffee  Jack,  however, 
made  a  most  welcome  contribution  to  the  larder  one  day, 
by  coming  in  with  his  hat  full  of  duck's  eggs,  which  he 
had  found  in  a  swamp. 

At  last,  on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  the  leader  of  the 
Thirty-six  returned  with  five  white  men  and  four  In 
dians.  Some  of  them  were  so  worn  with  hunger  and 
fatigue  as  to  be  hardly  recognizable,  and  all  were  utterly 
discouraged.  Their  hopes  were  dispelled;  they  had  found 
no  gold. 

The  big  party  had  advanced  more  than  fifty  miles  with 
their  heavy  loads,  and  had  built  two  cabins  to  serve  as 
starting-points  for  further  explorations.  The  men  who 
had  remained  there  would  have  to  draw  on  the  cache  near 
Pennock's  Post  very  soon,  and  the  leader  had  given  them 
orders  to  raft  these  supplies  down  the  river  twenty-five 
miles  to  the  point  where  the  stream  turned  westward 
from  the  trail,  and  there  establish  a  storehouse.  Mean 
while,  those  with  the  captain  were  to  go  to  the  Kah  Sha 
River  claims  and  help  the  four  who  had  been  originally 


180     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

left  there.  The  captain  himself  intended  to  go  to  Pyra 
mid  Harbor  with  the  Indians,  and  bring  in  a  fresh  supply 
of  provisions  on  pack  horses,  as  soon  as  there  was  grass 
enough  along  the  trail  for  the  subsistence  of  the  animals. 

The  men  were  given  a  hearty  supper  at  Pennock's,  for 
they  sorely  needed  it.  Indeed,  they  declared  it  was  the 
first  "square  meal"  they  had  enjoyed  in  two  weeks. 
After  a  good  night's  rest  and  breakfast,  they  resumed 
their  journey  in  better  spirits. 

Five  days  later  came  a  startling  piece  of  information. 
Mr.  Bratnober,  a  mining  man  well  known  on  the  Dalton 
trail,  with  a  young  man  named  Onderdonk  and  two 
Indian  packers,  stopped  at  the  cabin  on  his  way  north. 
He  said  that  war  had  broken  out  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain  in  April,  and  that  Admiral  Dewey  had 
won  a  great  victory  at  Manila. 

As  may  be  imagined,  this  news  wrought  David  and 
Roly  up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement. 

"Just  think,"  said  they, —"war  for  a  month,  and  we 
didn't  know  it!" 

For  a  moment,  they  almost  regretted  that  they  had 
come  to  such  a  far  country,  and  they  thought  longingly 
of  the  stirring  times  at  home.  Their  father  and  uncle 
were  also  much  moved,  and  their  first  impulse  was  to 
drop  everything  and  hasten  back,  —  the  one  to  protect  his 
family,  the  other  to  enter  the  army  or  navy.  But  as  they 
talked  the  matter  over,  they  saw  there  was  little  likeli- 


LAST  DAYS  AT  PENNOCK'S  POST  181 

hood  that  the  Spaniards  could  effect  a  landing  on  the 
American  coast;  and  as  to  Uncle  Will's  enlistment, 
though  that  would  have  just  suited  his  roving  tempera 
ment,  he  decided,  upon  his  brother's  urgent  request,  to 
await  fuller  information.  All  agreed,  however,  that  it 
would  be  wise  to  return  at  once  to  the  Kah  Sha  River, 
a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles. 

There  were  several  reasons  for  this  move.  The  first 
and  most  imperative  was  the  fact  that  their  provisions  at 
Pennock's  would  last  but  one  week  more.  In  the  second 
place,  they  had  demonstrated  to  their  entire  satisfaction 
that  there  was  no  gold  worth  mining  in  that  vicinity,  and 
the  Thirty-six  had  found  none  farther  north.  Thirdly, 
there  certainly  was  gold  on  their  Alder  Creek  claims,  and 
Lucky 's  nugget  was  probably  now  uncovered.  Finally, 
they  would  be  within  thirty  miles  of  Dalton's  Post,  and 
likely  to  hear  more  news  from  incoming  prospectors. 


182     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXII 

A  HARD  JOURJSEY 

PREPARATIONS  for  departure  were  begun  that 
evening.      The    Bradfords  overhauled   all   their 
belongings,  and  decided  what  they  would  take 
and  what  they  would  have  to  leave.     There  was   even 
less  food  than  they  supposed,  —  barely  enough  for  three 
days,  —  but  tents,  blankets,  cooking  utensils,  tools,  guns, 
ammunition,  clothing,  and  various  small  articles  prom 
ised  to  load  them  heavily,  and  it  was  seen  that  a  part  of 
their  goods  must  be  abandoned. 

The  sleds,  of  course,  were  no  longer  of  any  use.  Most 
of  the  Mackinaw  clothing  was  now  too  heavy.  The  ice- 
creepers  and  snow-shoes  would  not  be  needed,  and  the 
former  were  thrown  out  at  once,  but  David  and  Roly 
could  not  part  with  their  snow-shoes,  which  they  desired 
to  take  home  and  hang  upon  the  walls  of  their  room. 
The  rubber  shoe-packs  were  nearly  worn  out,  and  were 
discarded.  David  regretfully  abandoned  the  two  steel 
traps,  which  were  heavy,  and  not  so  necessary  as  some 
other  things.  The  down  quilts  which  had  served  them 
so  well  were  too  bulky  to  be  taken  along,  though  not  of 
much  weight.  So  they  went  through  the  whole  list, 


A  HARD   JOURNEY  183 

retaining  this,  rejecting  that,  until  they  were  ready  to 
make  up  their  packs. 

Next  morning,  Nichols,  a  Bostonian  who  usually  cooked 
for  Pennock's  party,  obligingly  prepared  breakfast  for  the 
Bradfords,  who  were  busily  completing  their  packing. 
Large,  a  tall,  gaunt  San  Diego  man,  —  whose  initials  were 
A.  T.,  so  that,  as  he  was  fond  of  pointing  out,  he  was 
always  "At  Large,"  — gave  them  useful  hints  about  bind 
ing  the  packs.  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  atnd 
remembered  his  travels  with  knapsack  and  blanket.  Reitz 
and  Adair,  also  from  San  Diego,  and  Pennock  and  John 
son,  assisted  in  various  ways. 

After  several  failures,  the  boys  acquired  the  knack  of 
making  up  and  binding  a  pack.  To  accomplish  this, 
they  first  arranged  their  goods  in  the  least  possible  space, 
and  rolled  them  in  tent  or  blankets,  —  for  David  had  the 
latter,  and  Roly  the  tent,  —  thus  forming  a  flattened 
cylindrical  bundle.  A  lash-rope  from  a  sled  was  wound 
once  lengthwise  and  twice  widthwise  around  the  pack, 
the  latter  windings  being  about  ten  inches  apart.  The 
bundle  being  set  on  end,  a  strong  canvas  pack-strap  two 
inches  wide  and  three  feet  long  was  inserted  under  the 
lower  winding  at  its  junction  with  the  lengthwise  rope, 
and  the  ends  were  made  fast  to  the  upper  winding  about 
ten  inches  apart,  leaving  the  two  lengths  of  the  strap 
somewhat  loose,  so  that  the  packer  could  thrust  his  arms 
through  these  loops.  Thus  the  straps  passed  over  his 


184     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

shoulders  and  under  his  armpits.  To  prevent  them  from 
slipping  from  the  shoulders,  they  were  bound  together  by 
a  cord  passing  across  the  chest.  By  means  of  the  long, 
loose  end  of  the  pack-rope,  brought  over  either  shoulder 
and  grasped  by  the  hands,  the  load  could  be  shifted  a 
little  from  time  to  time  if  it  became  painful. 

At  seven,  all  was  ready,  and  the  Bradfords  took  leave 
of  their  friends  and  cast  a  last  look  at  the  little  cabin. 

"I  guess  you  '11  see  some  of  us  before  long,"  said  Pen- 
nock,  as  he  bade  them  good-by.  "  There  's  no  sort  of  use 
in  our  staying  here.  Remember  us  to  the  boys,  and  leave 
us  some  of  the  gold." 

Uncle  Will  motioned  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  to  lead 
the  way,  and  off  they  started  through  the  open  timber  to 
the  main  trail,  which  passed  but  a  few  hundred  yards 
from  the  cabin.  The  hoofs  of  horses  and  cattle,  travelling 
to  Dawson  the  previous  season,  had  clearly  defined  it, 
and  one  would  have  thought  it  a  cow-path  in  a  pasture, 
had  it  been  in  New  England  instead  of  the  Northwest 
Territory.  For  two  miles  it  was  smooth  and  hard,  and 
the  walking  was  excellent,  except  that  sometimes  a  tree 
had  fallen  across  the  path. 

Each  of  the  three  men  carried  a  load  of  seventy-five 
pounds,  though  Lucky  would  have  thought  nothing  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  being  trained  to  the  work  from 
childhood.  David  had  fifty  pounds,  and  Roly  and  Coffee 
Jack  forty  each. 


A  HARD  JOURNEY  185 

Before  they  had  gone  half  a  mile,  the  boys  realized  that 
the  journey  they  had  begun  would  be  a  severe  test  of 
endurance.  The  pressure  of  the  straps  caused  pain  in 
their  shoulders,  and  soon  their  arms  and  hands  tingled 
with  the  prickly  sensation  which  arises  when  the  blood 
cannot  circulate  freely.  They  were  obliged  to  avoid 
sticks  and  stones  with  great  care,  for  a  sprain  or  bruise 
might  easily  result  from  stepping  upon  them  so  heavily. 
Even  Uncle  Will,  who  had  done  a  good  deal  of  packing, 
was  quite  ready  to  rest  when  pain  compelled  the  boys  to 
halt.  They  secured  temporary  comfort  by  seating  them 
selves  in  front  of  a  fallen  tree  so  that  the  packs  would 
rest  upon  it,  and  the  prickly  sensation  in  the  arms  was 
relieved  by  loosening  the  straps  a  little.  Fortunately 
all  had  been  well  rested  and  strengthened  by  their  stay 
at  Pennock's  Post,  and  were  fortified  to  endure  both 
pain  and  fatigue.  Mr.  Bradford  was  as  strong  now  as 
his  rugged  brother.  David  had  grown  muscular,  and 
gained  in  weight.  Holy  looked  much  as  usual,  but  his 
muscles  were  certainly  harder  than  they  had  ever  been 
at  home. 

Following  the  east  shore  of  the  river,  they  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  whose  headwaters  Mr.  Bradford  had 
explored.  It  was  crossed  by  a  single  narrow  log  twenty 
feet  long,  a  rude  and  dangerous  bridge  for  any  one  who 
had  not  a  clear  head  and  steady  nerves.  The  water,  six 
or  eight  feet  below,  was  still  and  deep  and  muddy.  To 


186     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

fall  into  it  with  a  heavy  pack  meant  almost  certain  death, 
if  assistance  were  not  at  hand. 

Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack,  however,  crossed  unhesitat 
ingly,  and  Uncle  Will  performed  the  feat  without  betray 
ing  dizziness;  but  when  Mr.  Bradford's  turn  came,  he 
looked  somewhat  doubtful,  declaring  that  he  had  done  no 
tight-rope  walking  since  his  boyhood  days,  and  he  feared 
that  if  his  head  swam,  the  rest  of  him  would  soon  be 
swimming  too.  On  the  whole,  he  thought  it  wise  to 
remove  his  pack  and  carry  it  in  such  manner  that  he 
could  drop  it  if  he  fell.  He  then  advanced  over  the  log 
slowly  and  cautiously,  for  its  upper  surface,  hewn  level 
and  smooth,  was  but  four  inches  wide.  The  boys  carried 
their  packs  across  in  the  same  manner,  for  though  they 
were  good  at  balancing  and  had  no  fear  of  dizziness,  yet 
to  transport  a  top-heavy,  swaying  load  was  very  different 
from  making  the  passage  unencumbered. 

Beyond  the  creek  the  land  was  swampy,  and  travelling 
more  difficult.  They  circled  one  of  the  small  lakes  which 
they  had  crossed  on  their  northward  march,  and  came  at 
length  to  a  hill  two  hundred  feet  high.  This  was  climbed 
slowly  and  with  several  pauses,  for  they  found  themselves 
out  of  breath  the  instant  they  left  the  level  ground,  and 
the  perspiration  fairly  dripped  from  their  faces.  At  the 
top,  David  threw  himself  down  before  a  log  with  his  pack 
resting  upon  it,  but  Holy  thought  he  could  improve  on 
this  arrangement  by  sitting  on  the  trunk  itself  and  let- 


A  HARD  JOURNEY  187 

ting  the  pack  come  against  the  great  upturned  roots. 
Unfortunately,  in  the  act  of  seating  himself,  he  leaned  too 
far  backward,  and  instantly  his  load  overbalanced  him. 
Over  he  went  on  his  back  on  the  other  side  of  the  tree, 
pack  down  and  heels  up,  to  the  amusement  of  his  friends 
and  his  own  discomfiture,  for,  try  as  he  would,  he  could 
not  move. 

"Roly  seems  to  have  come  to  anchor,"  observed  Uncle 
Will,  with  a  most  provoking  twinkle  in  his  eye.  He  and 
his  brother  had  seated  themselves  at  a  little  distance. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  smiling  as  he  contemplated 
Roly's  fruitless  efforts  to  turn  over;  "and  perhaps  it's 
just  as  well.  We  shall  know  where  to  find  him." 

"I  should  think  you  would,"  said  poor  Roly,  laughing 
in  spite  of  himself.  "  I  can't  get  up  till  somebody  helps 
me,  and  I  did  want  to  look  at  the  valley." 

"Oh,  no!  "  put  in  David,  with  exasperating  composure; 
"the  sky  is  far  prettier.  Just  see  those  beautiful  white 
summer  clouds  sailing  along." 

"Let  them  sail  if  they  want  to,"  said  the  prostrate 
youth,  impatiently.  "I  don't  care.  Have  you  all  con 
spired  against  me  ?  Give  me  your  hand,  Dave,  you  're 
nearest." 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  answered  David,  without  mov 
ing.  "Do  you  remember  a  certain  April  Fool's  trick, 
young  man?" 

*  Yes,  "groaned  Roly. 


188     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

"Don't  you  think  you  ought  to  be  punished?" 

"Not  any  more  than  I  am.  My  pack  will  punish  me 
enough  for  twenty  tricks  before  the  day  is  over." 

"True  enough,  youngster,"  said  David,  with  swift  re 
pentance,  as  he  thought  of  his  own  sore  shoulders  and 
the  growing  pain  in  his  back.  "  Here  's  my  hand.  You 
had  my  forgiveness  long  ago." 

"That's  right!"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  who  had  been  on 
the  point  of  going  to  Roly's  assistance  when  this  dialogue 
began.  "Don't  lay  up  resentment,  my  lad." 

So  Roly  came  up  smiling,  and  they  all  took  a  good  look 
at  the  valley  of  Pennock's  Post,  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  which  lay  spread  before  them.  There  in  the 
blue  distance  northward  were  the  Father  and  Son,  with 
the  narrow  pass  between.  Nearer  was  the  granite  cliff 
to  the  west  of  the  cabin,  and  even  the  sandy  bluff  that 
fronted  the  river  was  distinguishable.  But  the  little 
house  was  hidden  in  the  forest. 

Soon  after  the  march  was  resumed,  a  small  and  beauti 
ful  lake  was  skirted,  lying  east  of  the  trail.  Beyond  it 
towered  a  mountain,  upon  whose  green  slope  gleamed  a 
white  waterfall,  while  near  the  hither  shore  emerged  an 
islet  crowned  with  trees.  Uncle  Will  looked  particularly 
at  the  ice,  which  had  melted  away  from  the  margin  of 
this  lake,  but  still  appeared  firm  in  the  centre. 

"There  's  about  an  even  chance,"  said  he,  "that  we  can 
cross  Dasar-dee-ash,  instead  of  going  clear  around  it.  We 


A  HARD   JOURNEY  189 

must  make  the  short  cut  if  possible,  for  our  food  is  almost 
gone.  I  think  the  ice  will  bear  us,  if  we  can  only  get 
upon  it." 

With  every  step,  the  packs  became  more  painful. 
Shoulders  and  hips  grew  sore,  backs  ached,  and  feet 
grew  lame.  It  was  now  necessary  to  rest  every  quarter 
of  a  mile.  They  passed  another  lake,  along  whose  shores 
the  trail  was  rough  and  swampy.  Wooded  ridges  rose 
on  either  side  of  them.  In  some  places  they  found  small 
berries  of  the  previous  season,  which,  being  pleasant  to 
the  taste  and  harmless,  were  eagerly  eaten. 

The  Indians  at  length  left  the  trail  and  turned  through 
a  cleft  in  the  hills  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Dasar-dee- 
ash,  which  lay  three  miles  to  the  west.  Only  here  and 
there  could  the  white  men  distinguish  faint  signs  of  an 
old  path  which  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  followed  with 
wonderful  acuteness.  On  reaching  the  lake,  the  Brad- 
fords  estimated  that  they  had  carried  their  loads  at  least 
fourteen  miles,  and  it  was  with  a  great  sense  of  relief  that 
they  threw  their  burdens  to  the  ground  and  proceeded  to 
pitch  the  tents  with  what  little  energy  remained. 

At  this  spot  an  old  Indian  and  his  family  were  fish 
ing.  They  were  evidently  well  known  to  Lucky  and  his 
brother,  whom  they  entertained  that  evening  with  a  sup 
per  of  salmon  and  whitefish,  —  a  fortunate  circumstance, 
since  the  provisions  of  the  Bradfords  were  running  so  low 
that  they  barely  had  enough  for  themselves. 


190     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

The  second  day's  march  was  even  more  severe  than  the 
first.  It  was  needful  to  hasten,  for  the  old  Indian  could 
spare  no  fish  when  the  Bradfords  offered  to  buy,  and  even 
Lucky  could  procure  but  half  a  dozen  small  ones  for  him 
self  and  Coffee  Jack  on  the  journey.  Rations  were  there 
fore  reduced,  for  it  was  plain  that  it  would  be  well  along 
in  the  third  day  before  they  could  reach  Uncle  Will's 
cache,  even  should  it  prove  possible  to  cross  upon  the  ice ; 
while  if  the  crossing  should  seem  too  dangerous,  it  would 
require  a  fourth  day  to  go  around  by  the  rough,  wooded 
south  shore. 

At  the  old  Indian's  camping  ground,  the  outlook  was 
anything  but  favorable.  It  was  now  the  twenty-second 
of  May,  and  so  warm  that  the  green  buds  were  swelling 
in  every  tree.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  the  ice  had 
retreated  from  the  beach,  leaving  a  strip  of  open  water 
from  fifty  to  a  hundred  feet  wide.  There  was  nothing 
to  do  but  follow  an  old  trail  along  the  eastern  shore 
in  the  hope  that  somewhere  conditions  would  be  more 
encouraging. 

The  heavy  packs  were  strapped  on  once  more,  and  off 
they  tramped  across  a  wide  marsh,  now  jumping  as  well 
as  they  could  from  hummock  to  hummock,  now  wading 
through  water  knee-deep.  Beyond  the  marsh  they  had  a 
bad  trail,  or  no  trail  at  all,  for  the  remainder  of  the  day, 
sometimes  forcing  their  way  through  thickets,  sometimes 
clambering  through  a  region  of  fallen  timber,  where  the 


A   HARD   JOURNEY  191 

great  trunks  were  piled  in  such  intricate  confusion  that 
a  passage  seemed  utterly  hopeless,  and  again  crossing  a 
newly  burned  woodland  where  dry  dust  and  ashes  lay 
several  inches  deep,  and  rose  from  beneath  their  feet  in 
stifling  clouds.  A  river  a  hundred  feet  in  width  was 
crossed  by  a  convenient  jam  of  logs  and  trees.  Late  in 
the  afternoon  they  took  to  the  beach,  where  the  rough 
cobblestones  offered  the  lesser  evil,  and  after  a  mile  of 
this  painful  walking  came  to  a  little  cove  where  at  last 
was  a  sight  so  welcome  that  the  boys  gave  a  glad  shout. 
A  narrow  spur  of  ice  was  seen,  bridging  the  strip  of  blue 
water. 


192     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  LAKE  AFFORDS  TWO  MEALS  AND  A  PERILOUS 
CROSSING 

WHILE  the  Bradfords  were  pitching  the  tents, 
Lucky  set  off  to  try  the  ice  preparatory  to 
the  morrow's  attempt  to  cross.  Coffee  Jack, 
instead  of  accompanying  his  brother,  made  Roly  under 
stand  that  he  wanted  a  line  and  a  hook. 

"Going  fishing?"  asked  Roly,  eagerly. 

"Yes,"  said  the  bright-eyed  Indian  boy.  "Big  feesh  — 
yes." 

So  Roly  dove  into  his  pack,  which  lay  unbound  on  the 
shore,  and  presently  produced  a  fish-line  wound  around  a 
chip.  A  small  hook  was  already  attached.  Coffee  Jack 
took  the  line  and  examined  it  doubtfully,  as  if  he  feared 
it  might  not  be  strong  enough.  Young  as  he  was,  he  had 
learned  many  tricks  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  woodcraft 
from  his  brother;  and  as  Roly  was  glad  to  acquire  such 
knowledge,  he  watched  the  Indian  boy  carefully. 

First  about  thirty  feet  of  the  line  were  unwound  and 
then  doubled,  so  as  to  give  a  length  of  fifteen  feet  for 
the  double  line. 


THE   LAKE  AFFORDS   TWO  MEALS  193 

"Cut?"  asked  Coffee  Jack,  drawing  his  finger  across 
it,  to  represent  a  knife. 

"Yes,"  said  Roly;  "you  can  cut  it." 

So  Coffee  Jack  cut  the  line  and  handed  back  to  Roly 
the  part  he  did  not  need.  He  now  took  one  of  the  small 
whitefish  which  he  had  obtained  from  the  old  Indian  that 
morning,  and  cut  off  the  rear  half  of  its  body  with  the  tail 
attached.  This  he  cut  open,  and  trimmed  down  with  his 
knife  until  it  resembled  a  large  shiner.  The  whole  hook 
was  then  placed  inside  the  body,  and  the  opening  sewed 
up  with  a  needle  and  thread  supplied  by  his  friend. 

The  Indian  boy  was  now  ready  to  set  his  double  line 
in  place.  Accompanied  by  Roly,  who  was  warned  by 
his  father  to  be  extremely  careful,  he  warily  crossed  the 
ice-bridge  to  the  firmer  ice  beyond.  In  places  this  ice 
was  a  foot  thick,  but  it  was  so  honeycombed  by  the  sun's 
rays  as  to  be  very  treacherous.  There  were  numerous 
openings  of  various  sizes  to  be  avoided,  as  well  as  places 
where  the  ice  had  been  reduced  to  an  unsafe  thinness. 
Coffee  Jack  walked  out  to  a  point  several  hundred  yards 
from  the  beach,  having  first  cut  a  long  pole  and  a  slender 
stick,  the  latter  about  three  feet  in  length.  He  selected 
an  opening  in  the  ice  two  feet  in  diameter,  the  sides  of 
which  were  thick  and  safe  to  stand  upon ;  and  having  tied 
the  small  stick  firmly  across  the  centre  of  the  pole,  so 
that  a  foot  of  it  was  on  one  side,  and  two  feet  on  the 
other,  he  notched  the  short  end  and  made  the  line  fast 

13 


194     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

to  it.  The  pole  was  then  set  across  the  hole,  and  the  bait 
allowed  to  sink  down  through  the  clear  water.  It  was 
evident  that  if  a  fish  swallowed  the  bait  and  attempted 
to  swim  away  with  it,  the  pole  would  hold  him  prisoner, 
while  the  short  stick  would  tip  up  and  announce  the 
capture.  Roly  had  seen  the  pole  and  pointer  used  in  New 
England,  but  the  idea  of  sewing  the  hook  inside  of  the 
bait-fish  was  a  novel  one. 

"Good!"  said  Coffee  Jack,  as  he  contemplated  his 
contrivance  a  moment,  and  then  turned  back  toward  the 
shore.  "Big  feesh  —  to-morrow!" 

Holy  was  inclined  to  wait  for  developments,  but  as  the 
call  to  "muck-muck  "  was  now  heard  on  the  shore,  he  also 
withdrew.  It  was  a  very  frugal  supper  which  the  tired 
trampers  ate,  ere  they  threw  themselves  into  their  tents 
for  a  long  sound  sleep. 

The  morning  broke  cool  and  cloudy.  Mists  trailed  low 
along  the  sides  of  the  Dasar-dee-ash  Mountains  across 
the  lake,  and  hid  their  snowy  summits  from  view.  There 
was  a  dampness  in  the  air  which  betokened  rain,  and  that 
quickly. 

Roly  gave  little  thought  to  the  weather,  however,  when 
he  awoke.  His  first  glance,  as  he  peered  from  the  tent, 
was  directed  toward  the  little  stick  away  out  on  the  ice, 
and  great  was  his  excitement  when  he  saw  that  it  was 
pointing  straight  up.  Without  waiting  to  arouse  any  one 
—  not  even  Coffee  Jack,  who,  he  rightly  reasoned,  cared 


THE   LAKE   AFFORDS   TWO   MEALS  195 

much  for  the  fish,  but  very  little  for  the  sport  of  catching 
it  —  he  walked  as  fast  as  he  dared,  out  over  the  surface 
of  the  lake.  A  south  wind  was  rising,  and  now  and 
then  he  felt  a  drop  of  rain  on  his  cheek. 

How  his  fingers  tingled  with  anticipation  when  he 
grasped  the  taut  double  line !  There  was  certainly  some 
thing  heavy  at  the  end  of  it.  In  another  moment  the 
boy  could  dimly  see  a  great  fish  coming  slowly  toward 
the  surface.  Presently  it  took  alarm  and  struggled  to 
swim  away  in  various  directions.  Fearing  that  the  line 
would  be  sawn  in  two  against  the  icy  edges  of  the  hole, 
Holy  hauled  in  as  fast  as  he  could,  hand  over  hand,  and 
now  up  came  the  big  fish,  and  out  it  flopped  upon  the 
ice,  to  be  hurriedly  dragged  to  a  safe  distance.  As  the 
bait  was  in  good  condition,  it  was  dropped  back  into 
the  hole. 

Roly  immediately  set  out  with  his  prize  for  the  shore, 
where  he  raised  the  camp  by  a  series  of  whoops  which 
would  have  done  credit  to  the  whole  Stik  tribe.  Nobody 
knew  the  name  of  the  fish ;  but  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack, 
the  moment  they  caught  sight  of  its  long  head  and  body, 
and  mottled  brown  and  yellow  skin,  looked  disappointed 
and  said,  "No  good." 

"That  may  be,"  said  Uncle  Will;  "but,  good  or  not, 
we  're  going  to  eat  it,  for  we  've  precious  little  else,"  and 
he  gave  it  to  Coffee  Jack  to  clean. 

When  it  was  cut  up  and  sputtering  in  the  frying-pan, 


196     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

the  odor  was  certainly  appetizing,  and  the  Indians  made 
no  objection  to  receiving  their  share  in  the  distribution 
which  followed.  The  Bradfords  found  that  the  skin  was 
full  of  a  strong  —  almost  rancid  —  oil,  but  the  flesh, 
though  rather  flavorless,  was  not  bad. 

"This  reminds  me  of  the  candle-fish,"  said  Uncle  Will, 
"which  runs  up  Alaskan  rivers.  It's  a  small  fish,  the 
most  oily  variety  known,  and  it  is  said  that  if  you  set 
one  on  its  head,  and  strike  a  light  to  its  tail,  it  will  burn 
like  a  candle  until  consumed." 

"Oh,  come,  Will!  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Bradford.  "Do  you 
expect  us  to  believe  that?" 

"Well,"  said  his  brother,  "salt  and  fish  generally  go 
together,  and  in  Alaska  even  a  fish-story  must  sometimes 
be  taken  with  a  grain  of  salt." 

"Evidently,"  said  Mr.  Bradford. 

Exclamations  from  David  and  Coffee  Jack,  who  sat 
facing  the  lake,  now  caused  the  others  to  look  that  way. 
The  little  stick  was  pointing  up  again. 

Roly  dropped  everything,  and  ran  out  to  the  hole. 
Again  he  felt  a  heavy  weight,  and  this  time  found  a  gamy 
customer  enough,  for  the  fish  darted  violently,  around  as 
soon  as  it  was  conscious  of  the  tug  on  the  line.  The 
young  fisherman  had  his  hands  full,  but  hauled  in  as 
steadily  as  he  could,  and  out  came  the  fish  at  last,  —  a 
magnificent  six-pound  lake  trout.  The  hook  had  caught 
so  deeply  that  it  had  to  be  cut  out,  and  the  bait  had 


THE   LAKE   AFFORDS   TWO   MEALS  197 

mostly  disappeared,  so  the  line,  hook,  and  fish  were 
brought  ashore  together. 

"Him  good!  "  said  Lucky,  as  pleased  at  this  capture  as 
he  had  been  disappointed  at  the  other. 

"I  should  say  so!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Bradford.  "We 
shall  have  a  royal  dinner  at  least,  and  by  supper-time 
we  ought  to  reach  the  cache." 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  Will;  "and  the  sooner  we  get  across 
this  lake  the  better.  It 's  coming  on  to  rain  and  blow,  and 
the  ice  may  break  up.  We  've  not  a  minute  to  lose." 

Mr.  Bradford  looked  anxiously  out  over  the  storm- 
swept  expanse.  "It  would  be  the  height  of  folly,"  he 
declared,  "to  try  to  cross  that  rotten  ice  with  packs 
strapped  on  our  backs.  We  ought  to  be  free  to  swim  if 
worst  comes  to  worst.  I  don't  like  the  looks  of  things." 

"Nor  I  either,"  Uncle  Will  agreed.  "I  think  each  of 
us  had  better  cut  two  long  poles,  fasten  his  pack  near  one 
end  of  them,  and  drag  it  over  the  ice.  Then,  if  any  one 
breaks  through,  his  load  won't  sink  him,  and  the  poles 
will  be  handy  for  his  rescue." 

This  plan  was  approved  by  all.  Small  poplar  trees 
were  quickly  felled  in  the  neighboring  forest,  and  their 
branches  lopped  off.  Two  of  these  poles  being  laid  flat 
on  the  ice  about  a  foot  apart,  the  load  was  made  fast  near 
one  end,  and  the  owner,  stepping  between  them  at  the 
other  end,  grasped  them  with  his  hands.  A  rope  passing 
loosely  across  his  shoulders  from  one  pole  to  the  other 


198     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

took  a  part  of  the  weight.  It  was  also  found  advan 
tageous  to  trim  the  ends  of  the  poles  where  they  came 
in  contact  with  the  ice. 

All  being  ready,  they  started,  but  progress  was  slow, 
both  for  caution's  sake,  and  because  in  the  absence  of  ice- 
creepers  their  feet  could  obtain  little  hold  upon  the  slip 
pery  surface.  Not  far  out  lay  a  chain  of  small  islands, 
around  which  were  stretches  of  .  open  water,  now  lashed 
into  foam  by  the  wind,  and  lapping  hungrily  at  the 
weakening  edges  of  the  ice.  It  was  necessary  to  go 
between  two  of  these  islands  where  the  ice  was  not  to 
be  depended  on,  but  this  dangerous  passage  was  made  in 
safety,  and  all  breathed  more  easily  when  they  reached 
the  firmer  ice  of  the  broad,  open  lake.  The  rain  now 
fell,  or  rather  drove,  in  torrents,  and  the  travellers  were 
wet  to  the  skin.  Four  miles  away  lay  the  shore  they 
sought,  at  the  southern  base  of  the  dark  mountain  slopes. 
At  the  head  of  the  company  went  Lucky,  his  black, 
narrow  eyes,  almost  Mongolian  in  shape,  keenly  fixed  on 
the  ice,  and  the  rude  drag  scraping  along  behind  him. 
Then  came  Coffee  Jack,  then  Uncle  Will  with  the  lake 
trout  slipping  after  his  load,  and  finally  Roly,  David, 
and  Mr.  Bradford.  It  was  hard  work,  —  hard  upon  hands 
and  arms,  —  though  the  lame  backs  and  shoulders  were 
somewhat  relieved  by  the  new  mode  of  travel. 

After  an  hour  and  a  half,  the   party  approached  the 
southwest  shore.     Here  the  ice  became  more  treacherous. 


THE  LAKE  AFFORDS   TWO   MEALS  199 

Sometimes  they  could  feel  it  settle  beneath  their  feet,  as 
if  an  upper  layer  had  been  pressed  down  upon  an  under 
lying  one.  There  were  many  little  cavities  a  few  inches 
deep  and  filled  with  water,  at  the  bottom  of  which  were 
slender  green  plants  like  seaweed,  which  seemed  to  pos 
sess  the  power  of  melting  the  ice  immediately  around 
them.  Strict  orders  were  given  that  no  one  should 
approach  within  thirty  feet  of  another,  lest  their  com 
bined  weight  should  prove  disastrous.  And  now  Lucky 
stopped  and  pointed  toward  the  shore. 

"Water!"  he  exclaimed. 

Consternation  was  depicted  on  every  face. 

"It's  too  true,"  said  Uncle  Will,  as  he  made  out  the 
dark  line  all  along  the  beach.  "  Looks  as  if  we  could  n't 
get  off  the  ice  now  we  're  on  it." 

"We  've  got  to  get  off,"  declared  Mr.  Bradford,  deci 
sively.  "  There  's  nothing  else  to  do.  We  can't  go  back. 
Very  likely  the  ice-bridge  is  gone  by  this  time." 

"Can't  we  chop  out  an  ice-raft?"  suggested  David, 
who  recalled  certain  youthful  adventures  upon  the  mill- 
pond  at  home. 

Uncle  Will  nodded.  "We  '11  do  that  very  thing,"  said 
he,  "if  we  can't  find  a  crossing.  First,  however,  let  us 
explore  a  little." 

Contrary  to  all  expectation,  as  they  rounded  a  rocky 
point,  they  discovered  beyond  it  a  narrow  ice-strip  not 
more  than  fifty  feet  wide,  similar  to  the  one  they  had 


200     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

crossed  that  morning,  but  much  weaker,  spanning  the 
hundred  feet  to  the  beach.  One  at  a  time  they  passed 
across  in  safety  and  stood  at  last,  with  a  great  sense  of 
thankfulness  and  relief,  upon  the  solid  ground.  And 
now  the  rain  ceased,  and  the  cheerful  sun  broke  through 
the  masses  of  clouds. 


DAVID   GETS   HIS  BEAR-SKIN  201 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DAVID  GETS  HIS  BEAU-SKIN 

THE    cache    was    reached     after     a    half-hour's 
walk  along  the  pebbly  beach,  and  as  provisions 
were  now  plentiful   once   more,  the  lake   trout 
was   served  for    dinner   in   bountiful    style   with  apple 
sauce,  desiccated  potato,  and  bannocks,  —  the  latter  baked 
in  tin  plates   before  an  open  fire.      The   remainder  of 
the   day  and    the  night  were  spent  at  the  cache,  since 
all  were  in  need  of  rest,  and  some  changes  would  have 
to  be  made  in  the  packs   before    proceeding  to  Alder 
Creek. 

Not  far  away  two  men  were  encamped  with  a  large 
outfit.  They  said  they  had  come  in  with  sleds  and 
had  taken  claims  on  the  Kah  Sha  River;  but  by  the 
time  they  were  ready  to  continue  toward  Dawson  City, 
the  ice  of  the  lake  was  too  treacherous  for  heavy  sled 
ding,  so  they  had  decided  to  build  a  boat.  This  boat 
was  now  finished  and  lay  bottom  up  on  the  beach. 

It  was  constructed  of  spruce  boards  whip-sawn  with 
great  labor  from  dry  tree-trunks,  and  was  tightly 
calked  with  oakum  and  putty,  but  lacked  paint  be 
cause  the  builders  had  brought  none.  They  were  con- 


202     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

fident,  however,  that  the  craft  would  prove  water-tight 
and  seaworthy.  It  was  to  carry  one  mast,  and  they 
were  making  a  sail  out  of  the  fly  of  their  tent.  It  was 
also  provided  with  seats,  rowlocks,  and  a  rudder.  By 
the  time  the  ice  broke  up,  the  two  voyagers  would  be 
ready  to  begin  their  cruise  of  over  fifty  miles  by  lake 
and  river,  to  the  point  where  they  must  take  the 
trail. 

One  of  the  men  asked  David  if  he  had  any  map  of 
the  region,  and  David  hunted  up  a  railroad  folder 
which  contained  a  map  of  Alaska.  But  on  examining 
it  in  the  light  of  his  own  experience  he  found  many 
serious  errors.  Klukshu  Lake,  for  instance,  had  been 
confused  with  some  lake  farther  to  the  east,  and  ap 
peared  under  the  name  of  Lake  Maud.  Its  outlet, 
instead  of  flowing  from  the  south  end  and  emptying 
into  the  Alsek  just  above  Dalton's  Post,  was  repre 
sented  as  flowing  from  the  north  end  and  reaching  the 
Alsek  thirty  miles  below.  Then  instead  of  lying  within 
four  miles  of  Lake  Dasar-dee-ash,  as  he  knew  to  be  the 
fact,  it  was  placed  at  least  twenty-five  miles  to  the 
east.  Lake  Dasar-dee-ash  appeared  of  a  decidedly 
wrong  shape,  and  its  outlet  was  made  to  flow  almost 
directly  west,  instead  of  northward,  as  it  did  for  many 
miles.  As  for  all  the  smaller  lakes  he  had  seen,  the 
large  stream  flowing  into  Dasar-dee-ash  from  the  east, 
which  they  had  crossed  on  the  jam  of  logs,  and  the 


DAVID   GETS   HIS   BEAR-SKIN  203 

Kali  Sha  River  and  its  tributaries,  they  were  nowhere 
to  be  found,  —  all  of  which  went  to  show  how  little 
was  known  in  the  outside  world  of  the  region  into 
which  they  had  penetrated. 

David  therefore  drew  a  rude  but  reliable  map  of 
the  trail,  to  which  he  added  from  time  to  time  as  his 
travels  warranted. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  when  the  boys 
had  finished  cleaning  the  rifle  and  shot-gun,  Coffee 
Jack,  who  had  been  roaming  through  the  woods  for  no 
apparent  purpose,  came  running  breathlessly  into  camp, 
shouting,  "  Beer !  beer ! "  and  pointing  straight  behind 
him. 

"Beer?"  said  Roly,  with  a  laugh.  "What  in  the 
world  does  he  mean?  There  can't  be  any  beer  in  this 
neighborhood." 

" 1  'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  said  David,  much  puzzled. 
"  Come  here,  Coffee.  What  have  you  found  ?  " 

"  Beer !  "  repeated  the  Indian  boy,  excitedly.  Then, 
seeing  that  he  was  not  understood,  he  gave  a  low  growl 
and  dropped  on  all  fours. 

"  Bear ! "  exclaimed  the  Bradford  boys,  in  one  breath, 
as  they  jumped  to  their  feet. 

"  Yes,  beer,  beer ! "  insisted  Coffee  Jack,  unable  to 
improve  on  his  first  pronunciation,  but  delighted  to 
perceive  that  they  understood  him  at  last. 

David  and  Roly  were  in  a  flurry  at  once.     They  felt 


204     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

that  not  a  moment  must  be  lost  or  the  prey  would 
escape.  It  is  not  unlikely  they  had  a  vague  idea  that 
their  elders  would  veto  a  bear-hunt  if  they  knew  of  it; 
at  any  rate  they  did  not  stop  to  summon  their  father 
and  uncle  from  the  beach,  but  hastily  snatched  up  the 
guns  and  some  cartridges  and  set  off  through  the 
woods,  Coffee  Jack  leading,  armed  only  with  a  hunting- 
knife.  Lucky  was  absent,  having  gone  with  a  load  of 
provisions  to  Alder  Creek. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  boys  were  entirely 
foolhardy  in  thus  setting  off  alone.  The  Indian  knew 
from  experience,  and  the  white  boys  from  previous  in 
quiry,  that  the  grizzly,  the  fiercest  of  bears,  which  will 
attack  human  beings  without  provocation,  was  not 
known  in  this  part  of  the  country.  What  Coffee  Jack 
had  seen  must  have  been  a  black  bear  or  a  cinnamon, 
the  latter  being  considered  by  some  authorities  as  nearly 
identical  with  the  former.  Such  a  bear,  they  had  heard, 
always  preferred  to  run  away,  and  was  not  much  to  be 
dreaded  unless  cornered  or  wounded.  With  a  rifle  and 
a  shot-gun  they  were  sure  they  could  defend  themselves 
effectively. 

After  forcing  their  way  through  thick  willow  bushes, 
they  came  into  an  open  patch  of  woods,  where  Coffee 
Jack  motioned  that  they  were  to  make  no  noise.  They 
were  now  in  view  of  a  bare  spur  or  ridge  jutting  out 
along  the  lake  from  the  lofty  mountains  behind.  Coffee 


DAVID   GETS   HIS   BEAR-SKIN  205 

Jack  paused  in  the  shadow  of  a  tree  and  examined  the 
open  ground  ahead  with  extreme  care,  but  seeing  no 
sign  of  the  bear  he  looked  up  on  the  ridge.  The 
others  followed  his  motions,  and  now  at  the  same  in 
stant  they  all  saw  a  large  dark  animal  and  two  smaller 
ones  scrambling  up  the  steep  slope.  The  old  she-bear 
was  cuffing  first  one  cub,  then  the  other,  with  her  great 
paws  to  make  them  move  faster,  and  butting  them 
along  with  her  head  in  a  comical  manner.  The  boys 
noticed  that  one  of  the  cubs  was  dark  brown  like  the 
mother,  while  the  other  was  a  cinnamon  cub. 

Coffee  Jack  rushed  across  the  open  space  with  David 
and  Roly  at  his  heels,  and  did  not  pause  until  he 
reached  the  foot  of  the  slope,  from  which  point  the 
bears  were  in  range  of  both  guns. 

"  Shoot  little  beer,"  said  he,  breathlessly,  "  then  ol' 
beer  stop." 

"  You  take  the  cinnamon,  Roly,"  directed  David. 

"All  right,"  said  Roly.     "Blaze  away." 

The  two  reports  rang  out  together,  and  as  the  smoke 
rose,  the  boys'  faces  grew  very  long.  All  three  bears 
were  still  going  and  apparently  untouched.  And  every 
moment  they  were  increasing  the  distance  between 
themselves  and  their  pursuers. 

"We  must-  get  closer,"  cried  David,  as  he  charged 
up  the  hill,  followed  by  .the  others.  "Did  you  take 
buckshot  cartridges,  Roly  ?  " 


206     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

Flashes  of  recollection,  enlightenment,  and  dismay 
succeeded  one  another  in  Holy's  face. 

"No,"  he  admitted  in  a  doleful  tone,  "I  never 
thought  of  it  at  all  in  the  hurry.  I  'm  afraid  I  've  got 
nothing  but  bird-shot."  And  such  proved  to  be  the 
case. 

"Well,  then,"  said  David  between  breaths,  as  he 
struggled  over  rocks  and  logs,  "  there  's  no  use  in  your 
firing  except  at  the  very  shortest  range,  and  then  only 
at  the  cubs.  I  'm  going  to  try  again  now." 

So  saying,  he  stopped,  took  careful  aim  at  the  brown 
cub,  of  which  he  had  a  clear  view  at  that  instant,  and 
dropped  it  in  its  tracks.  The  old  bear  thereupon 
turned  to  see  what  was  the  matter  with  her  offspring, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  she  concluded  that  the 
cub  could  go  no  farther.  Meanwhile  the  boys  had 
closed  up  a  part  of  the  distance. 

"  Here,  Holy,"  said  David,  taking  pity  on  his  younger 
brother,  and  handing  him  the  rifle,  "  perhaps  you  'd  like 
a  shot  at  the  cinnamon." 

But  Roly  was  not  accustomed  to  the  rifle,  and  though 
the  cinnamon,  which  had  advanced  but  slowly  since 
the  old  bear  stopped,  was  not  far  distant,  he  only  suc 
ceeded  in  breaking  its  leg.  David  supplied  another 
cartridge,  and  at  the  second  shot  Roly  brought  down 
the  game. 

The  old  bear  now  displayed  anger  and  defiance,  and 


DAVID   GETS   HIS   BEAR-SKIN  207 

sat  up  on  her  haunches  with  a  growl  that  made  the 
boys  look  instinctively  around  for  cover.  There  was 
none  to  be  had,  however,  —  not  a  tree  or  large  rock  to 
which  they  could  escape.  They  had  but  one  effective 
weapon.  Furthermore,  they  now  realized  their  inexpe 
rience  as  never  before,  and  almost  wished  themselves 
well  out  of  the  scrape.  It  was  evident  that  the  old 
bear  had  made  up  her  mind  to  defend  herself  and  the 
cubs  to  the  last  extremity.  She  would  be  still  more 
dangerous  if  wounded. 

All  this  passed  in  an  instant  through  David's  mind. 
As  the  oldest  of  the  three,  he  felt  responsible  for  the 
safety  of  his  companions.  The  battle  could  not  now 
be  avoided.  He  had  no  doubt  that  to  retreat  would 
only  bring  the  enemy  upon  them  at  once.  In  spite  of 
himself,  he  trembled  with  the  excitement  and  danger  of 
the  situation.  However,  his  mind  was  quickly  made 
up.  He  remembered  a  little  friend  back  in  Seattle  to 
whom  he  had  promised  a  bear-skin.  It  had  seemed 
easy  enough  to  make  the  promise.  To  fulfil  it,  now 
that  he  was  facing  the  bear,  did  not  seem  quite  so 
simple.  But  he  was  no  coward. 

"  Holy,"  said  he,  quickly,  as  he  took  the  rifle,  "  you 
and  Coffee  Jack  go  back.  You  can't  help  me.  Shout 
as  soon  as  you  reach  the  woods,  and  I'll  take  care  of 
the  bear." 

"  Not  much !  "  declared  Roly,  promptly  and  decisively. 


208     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

He  had  also  been  considering  the  situation,  was  like 
wise  trembling  with  nervous  excitement,  but  had  resolved 
that,  come  what  would,  he  would  stand  by  his  brother. 

David  looked  at  the  lad's  sturdy  figure  and  saw  in 
his  face,  usually  so  round  and  smiling,  a  look  of  reso 
luteness  which  he  could  not  but  admire. 

"You're  the  right  stuff,"  said  he,  quietly.  "Here 
goes." 

He  raised  the  rifle  to  his  shoulder  just  as  the  bear 
sat  up  again,  and  aimed  at  her  breast.  Unfortunately 
in  his  excitement  he  jerked  the  rifle  when  he  pulled 
the  trigger.  The  ball  just  grazed  the  bear's  side. 

With  an  angry  growl  of  pain  the  great  beast  came 
down  upon  all  fours  and  charged  the  little  group. 

"  Kneel,  Dave !  "  cried  Roly.     "  It  '11  steady  you." 

David  dropped  on  one  knee  as  the  bear  came  on, 
while  Coffee  Jack  clutched  his  knife  convulsively. 

"  Bang !  "  went  the  rifle  the  next  instant.  Through  the 
smoke  they  saw  the  bear  plunge  to  the  earth  within  a 
dozen  yards  of  them  with  a  bullet  through  her  head. 
The  battle  was  won. 

"Well,  well,  what's  all  this?"  they  heard  shouted  in 
Mr.  Bradford's  voice  from  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Pres 
ently  he  and  Uncle  Will  appeared  breathless  upon  the 
scene. 

"  You  can  see  for  yourself,  sir,"  said  David,  pointing 
to  the  fallen  game. 


DAVID   GETS   HIS   BEAR-SKIN  209 

"  A  bear  and  two  cubs,  as  I  'm  alive ! "  exclaimed 
Uncle  Will.  "  You  Ve  done  a  good  piece  of  work, 
boys." 

"  At  close  quarters,  too ! "  observed  Mr.  Bradford. 
"  They  must  have  stood  their  ground  like  Spartans." 
And  nothing  would  do,  after  the  game  was  skinned^ 
and  the  supper  of  tender  bear-cub  meat  eaten  that 
evening,  but  the  boys  must  tell,  to  the  least  detail,  how 
the  bears  were  killed. 

"  All  I  have  to  say,"  said  Uncle  Will,  as  he  re-lighted 
his  pipe  when  they  had  finished,  "is  that  you  deserve 
great  credit  for  pluck,  but  very  little  for  prudence. 
Next  time,  my  lads,  just  let  us  know  when  you  start 
out  after  bears." 


u 


210     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXV 


IT   required  a  week   of   hard   work   to  transport  the 
contents   of    the   cache   at    the    lake   by  frequent 
trips   to   the   claims    ten   miles    away.      The   tents 
were  pitched  on  the  grassy  top  of  the  bank  from  which 
Uncle  Will  had  panned  the  gold  in    April.     In  the  Kah 
Sha  gorge   there  yet  remained  a  few  old  drifts  of  snow 
which   dwindled   day  by    day,   but   under    the   influence 
of  the   almost   incessant  sunlight,  vegetation  was   every 
where  springing  fresh  and  green. 

There  were  now  seven  members  of  the  Thirty-six  — 
no  longer  mysterious  —  encamped  in  the  gorge  hardly 
a  mile  above  its  entrance,  under  the  leadership  of 
Moran,  a  gray-haired  veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  who 
was  the  only  practical  miner  among  them.  The  rest, 
like  the  majority  of  men  who  entered  Alaska  and 
the  Northwest  in  the  great  rush  of  1898,  were  drawn 
from  other  walks  of  life.  One  had  been  a  railroad 
brakeman,  another  a  railroad  clerk,  a  third  an  ice-man, 
a  fourth  a  travelling  salesman,  a  fifth  a  farmer,  and  the 
sixth  a  steamboat  man.  The  occupations  represented 
were  still  more  numerous  when  Pennock's  men  arrived 


MORAN'S   CAMP  211 

several  days  behind  the  Bradfords,  Pennock  himself 
having  gone  out  to  the  coast.  One  of  these  had  been 
a  grocer,  another  a  foreman  employed  by  a  gas  com 
pany,  and  another  a  journalist. 

Still  further  accessions  were  made  from  time  to  time, 
as  men  were  sent  back  from  the  camps  beyond  Pennock's, 
till  Moran's  Camp  became  a  bustling  and  populous  place. 
A  log  cabin  was  built  for  a  kitchen,  dining-room,  and 
storehouse,  and  half  a  dozen  tents  were  set  up  for  sleep 
ing  quarters.  This  little  settlement  was  situated  in  a 
wild  and  rugged  spot,  bounded  in  front  and  at  the  sides 
by  the  roaring,  foaming  torrent  of  the  Kah  Sha  River. 
Directly  at  the  rear  rose  foot-hills,  and  beyond  them  a 
high  mountain,  while  from  the  water's  edge  across  the 
stream  frowned  an  enormous  perpendicular  cliff  of  dark 
rock  three  hundred  feet  high,  from  which  not  infre 
quently  a  mass  of  crumbling  ddbris  came  crashing  down. 
The  sun  now  rose  over  the  mountain  to  the  east  at 
about  nine  o'clock  and  set  behind  this  cliff  at  four,  after 
which  the  gorge  was  always  chill  and  damp. 

The  Thirty-six  had  located  their  claims  along  the 
river  and  on  Alder  Creek.  They  had  found  numerous 
colors  of  gold  in  the  gravel  of  the  hillside  which  they 
had  levelled  for  the  cabin,  and  operations  for  taking 
out  the  gold  were  actively  begun.  As  soon  as  the 
cabin  was  finished,  the  men  turned  to  whip-sawing 
boards  from  spruce  logs,  nailing  the  boards  together  in 


212     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

the  form  of  sluice-boxes,  and  digging  prospect-holes 
here  and  there  along  the  streams  to  find  the  most 
promising  spot. 

They  were  still  hampered  by  an  insufficiency  of  food, 
but  as  the  captain  had  sent  word  that  he  had  bought 
supplies  from  several  discouraged  prospectors  at  Dalton's 
Post,  a  party  of  six  was  detailed  to  go  to  the  Post  with 
an  Indian  guide  and  bring  back  as  much  as  they  could 
carry.  They  returned  six  days  later,  footsore  and  lame, 
with  loads  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  pounds.  There  was 
no  late  news  of  the  war  at  Dalton's,  they  said.  The 
Alsek  was  very  high  and  running  at  least  ten  miles  an 
hour.  Ike  Martin,  the  storekeeper,  had  onions  already 
sprouted  in  his  little  garden-patch,  and  he  had  sown 
some  barley.  One  of  the  men  told  with  much  relish 
how  he  had  found  enough  dandelions  for  a  "mess  o' 
greens." 

This  meagre  batch  of  news  was  eagerly  seized  upon, 
the  least  item  possessing  no  little  interest  to  men  so 
long  shut  away  from  all  the  world  beyond  their  own 
camps.  The  Bradfords,  having  heard  it  all  as  they 
passed  the  cabin,  imparted  every  scrap  faithfully  to 
Moore  and  King  and  the  latter's  partner  Baldwin,  who 
had  recently  returned,  and  so  every  one  in  the  district 
soon  had  the  latest  information  from  the  Post. 

Early  in  June  the  gorge  became  almost  impassable  by 
reason  of  the  rising  waters.  The  snow  in  the  mountains 


MORAN'S   CAMP  213 

was  melting  rapidly,  and  every  brooklet  grew  into  a 
flood.  To  ford  the  main  river  was  no  longer  possible, 
for  the  heaviest  man  would  have  been  swept  off  his  feet 
in  an  instant.  All  but  three  of  the  dozen  trees  which 
had  been  felled  across  it  at  various  points  were  carried 
away  like  straws. 

One  of  those  which  remained  was  an  enormous  spruce 
about  ninety  feet  long,  spanning  the  stream  directly 
against  Moran's  Camp.  This  tree  had  been  raised  at  the 
farther  and  lighter  end,  so  that  it  barely  touched  the 
water  in  midstream,  and  was  braced  with  rocks  and 
logs.  At  its  heavier  end  it  lay  firmly  against  its  own 
stump.  Every  precaution  had  been  taken  to  insure  its 
safety,  for  at  no  point  was  a  bridge  more  necessary. 
Furthermore,  it  would  be  no  easy  matter  to  find  and 
drag  to  the  spot  another  tree  so  tall.  Owing  to  its 
great  length,  this  rude  bridge  swayed  dizzily  in  the 
centre,  hence  a  rope  was  stretched  tightly  above  it  as 
a  hand-rail. 

It  was  with  no  small  dismay  that  the  campers,  late 
one  afternoon,  saw  a  giant  tree-trunk  as  solid  as  a  bat 
tering-ram  come  thumping  down  the  swollen  river.  It 
crunched  along  over  the  rocky  bed  of  the  stream  and 
showed  no  sign  of  stopping  until  within  a  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  of  the  bridge,  where  it  lodged  rather  insecurely 
against  a  shallow.  As  it  was  the  habit  of  this  glacial 
river  to  rise  during  the  afternoon  and  evening  with  the 


214     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

accumulation  of  the  day's  meltings  and  fall  more  or 
less  through  the  morning,  it  was  tolerably  certain  that 
if  the  big  log  stuck  through  the  night  it  would  come 
no  farther.  The  Thirty-six  watched  and  waited,  and 
speculated  upon  the  threatened  disaster. 

About  the  middle  of  the  evening,  when  it  was  still 
broad  daylight  and  the  mountain  summits  were  yet 
flushed  with  the  lingering  sunbeams,  the  log  betrayed 
symptoms  of  restlessness.  It  began  to  roll  a  little  in 
the  violent  current,  which  steadily  rose  around  it.  Then 
one  end  swung  out,  and  at  last  the  great  mass  was  free, 
launched  full  tilt  against  the  very  centre  of  the  bridge, 
which  at  that  point  dipped  slightly  into  the  water. 

Was  there  room  for  it  between  the  bridge  and  the 
river-bottom?  Could  the  long  tree-trunk  withstand  the 
shock?  Were  the  braces  firm  on  the  opposite  shore? 
These  were  the  questions  Moran  and  his  companions 
asked  themselves,  for  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the 
bridge  would  be  struck.  It  was  an  exciting  moment  as 
that  great  bulk  came  on,  its  tons  of  sodden  wood  backed 
by  the  impetuous  forces  of  the  torrent. 

There  was  a  tremendous  thump  as  the  opposing  masses 
met.  The  bridge  log  trembled  from  end  to  end  and  all 
but  gave  way;  but  it  stood  the  strain.  The  battering- 
ram  had  met  its  match,  and  seemed  to  appreciate  the 
fact  as,  with  a  sort  of  bow  to  its  sturdy  antagonist,  it 
ducked  beneath,  and  after  much  scraping  and  bumping 


MORAN'S   CAMP  215 

swung  clear  and  headed  down  the  stream,  while  the 
bridge-builders  drew  a  deep  breath  of  relief  and  turned 
away  to  their  tents. 

The  Bradfords  had  by  this  time  finished  the  trans 
portation  of  their  goods  from  the  lake,  and  fortunately, 
for  there  was  no  passing  through  the  gorge.  When  the 
water  was  at  its  normal  height  there  was  a  passage  on 
one  side  or  the  other,  and  the  stream  had  to  be  frequently 
crossed  by  ford  or  log ;  but  now  that  the  river  in  many 
places  filled  all  the  space  between  its  rocky  walls,  the 
traveller  must  needs  scale  treacherous  slopes  of  loose 
gravel  where  a  slip  would  carry  him  over  the  cliffs  and 
into  a  river  whose  waters  were  icy  and  whose  bed  was 
not  composed  of  feathers.  Sometimes  he  must  toil  to 
the  very  top  of  the  precipices  to  avoid  the  more  danger 
ous  spots.  So  for  some  days  the  party  on  Alder  Creek 
lived  in  seclusion,  seeing  no  one  but  King,  Moore,  and 
Baldwin,  whose  tents  were  well  above  the  worst  portions 
of  the  river.  They  busied  themselves  by  constructing  a 
saw-pit  where  lumber  could  be  turned  out  for  sluice-boxes 
and  a  rocker,  not  deeming  it  practicable  to  build  a  cabin 
where  available  trees  were  so  few. 


216     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

HOW  THE  GREAT  NUGGET  NEARLY  COST  THE 
BRADFORDS  DEAR 

THE  lump  of  gold  which  Lucky  had  declared  was 
as  big  as  his  head  had  not  yet  been  secured, 
and  the  likelihood  that  many  prospectors  would 
come  in  as  soon  as  the  rivers  were  fordable  caused  Uncle 
Will  to  undertake  this  excursion  at  an  early  day.  The 
Stik  indicated  that  the  treasure  lay  in  the  valley  of  the 
Kah  Sha  River  above  its  junction  with  Alder  Creek.  As 
the  creek  was  the  principal  stream  above  that  point,  just 
as  the  Missouri  River  carries  far  more  water  than  the 
upper  Mississippi,  it  seemed  probable  that  there  would 
be  little  difficulty,  even  at  this  season  of  flood,  in 
ascending  the  upper  river-valley. 

It  was  a  cool,  invigorating  morning  on  which  the 
Bradfords  began  their  quest.  The  mountains  about 
them  wore  below  the  snow-line  the  soft  green  of  spring 
vegetation,  while  round  their  summits  a  few  fleecy 
clouds  vied  with  the  snow  in  brightness.  The  Indian 
boy  was  left  in  charge  of  the  camp,  —  an  arrangement 
which  he  accepted  without  visible  disappointment,  —  and 
the  gold-hunters  proceeded  down  the  brawling  creek, 


THE   GREAT   NUGGET  217 

walking  with  difficulty  over  loose  pebbles  of  quartz, 
granite,  and  slate.  Occasionally  Uncle  Will  picked  up 
a  stone  and  examined  it  through  a  inagnifying-glass  for 
traces  of  the  precious  metals. 

Having  reached  the  river  after  walking  nearly  a  mile, 
they  turned  to  the  left  up  its  valley,  and  soon,  owing 
to  the  boulders  below,  were  obliged  to  clamber  along  the 
hillsides.  Few  trees  were  to  be  seen,  but  there  was  a 
profusion  of  low  bushes  and  plants  on  every  sunny 
slope.  Often  in  shaded  places  they  crossed  old  snow 
drifts  which  promised  to  last  the  summer  through. 
Lucky  led  the  way,  picking  the  best  path  by  a  sort  of 
instinct. 

The  hills  became  more  and  more  precipitous.  Great 
bluffs  of  gravel  alternated  with  rocky  walls,  and  often 
it  was  difficult  to  maintain  a  foothold.  While  crossing 
the  face  of  one  of  the  bluffs,  Mr.  Bradford  met  with  an 
adventure  which,  as  he  afterwards  declared,  almost 
turned  his  hair  white.  The  rest  of  the  party  had  passed 
the  declivity  near  its  top  by  digging  their  feet  and 
sticks  into  the  soft  gravel,  while  he  had  lingered  to 
secure  a  blue  forget-me-not  which  grew  below  him. 

When  he  turned  to  follow  the  others,  they  were  out 
of  sight  around  the  shoulder  of  the  hill,  and  he  could 
see  nothing  to  mark  their  path  across  the  bluff.  He  had 
descended  fifty  feet  or  more,  and  since  there  appeared  no 
reason  for  scrambling  up  again,  he  began  to  advance  at 


218     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

that  level.  Perhaps  a  third  of  the  bluff  had  been 
crossed  slowly  and  carefully  when,  without  warning,  he 
encountered  a  gravel  of  different  character.  Instead  of 
being  soft  and  loose,  it  was  now  compact,  firmly  bedded, 
and  so  steeply  inclined  that  it  offered  not  the  slightest 
foothold.  The  moment  Mr.  Bradford's  foot  struck  this 
hard  gravel  he  slipped  and  fell,  but  as  he  did  so  he  drove 
his  staff  firmly  into  the  slope.  By  this  means  he  was 
able  to  stay  himself  temporarily. 

He  now  felt  carefully  about  for  a  support  for  his 
feet,  but  the  crumbling  pebbles  rolled  away  with  every 
movement.  However,  he  discovered  a  projecting  stone 
which  seemed  able  to  bear  some  weight,  and  this  relieved 
the  strain  upon  his  hands  and  arms.  And  now  he  shouted 
as  loudly  as  possible,  hoping  that  his  friends  would  hear. 

It  was  a  perilous  situation.  Below  him  for  a  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  the  gravel  was  of  the  same  hard,  decep 
tive  consistency.  He  could  see  that  it  ended  abruptly 
at  least  fifty  feet  above  the  little  stream,  and  rightly 
conjectured  that  this  interval  was  occupied  by  a  per 
pendicular  precipice  of  rock.  What  lay  at  the  bottom 
he  shuddered  to  imagine,  —  boulders,  sharp  rocks,  at 
best  a  rough  gravel-bed !  And  he  could  move  neither 
hand  nor  foot;  while,  as  if  in  mockery  of  his  plight, 
the  pebbles  kept  bounding  and  rattling  merrily  down 
the  terrible  slope  below  him,  leaping  out  into  space  at 
last  as  if  it  were  a  pleasant  pastime. 


THE   GREAT  NUGGET  219 

Again  and  again  he  shouted,  and  now  he  was  glad 
dened  by  an  answering  shout,  and  saw  his  brother 
hastening  along  the  bluff  above,  followed  by  Lucky, 
David,  and  Roly. 

"  Quick,  Will,"  he  cried ;  "  I  can't  hold  out  much 
longer." 

Uncle  Will  grasped  the  situation  in  a  twinkling. 
"  Has  any  one  some  twine  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  have,"  answered  David,  quickly  producing  a  small 
ball  of  it  from  his  pocket. 

"Tie  the  walking-sticks  together,  then,  and  don't  lose 
an  instant.  Roly,  run  to  the  top  of  the  bluff  and  see 
if  you  can  cut  a  tall  poplar."  With  these  words  Uncle 
Will  hastened  to  work  his  way  down  the  face  of  the 
bluff  toward  his  brother,  while  Lucky  ran  down  to  the 
point  where  Mr.  Bradford  had  found  the  flower,  and 
thence  followed  his  course  as  far  as  he  could  out  across 
the  bare  gravel.  He  was  able  to  approach  much 
nearer  the  imperilled  man  than  was  Uncle  Will,  who 
came  upon  the  hard  surface  before  he  had  covered  half 
the  distance,  and  could  go  no  farther. 

Indeed,  the  Indian  was  within  a  yard  of  Mr.  Brad 
ford  and  kicking  one  last  foothold  in  the  treacherous 
bank  preparatory  to  reaching  out  for  him  when,  to  the 
horror  of  all,  the  stone  upon  which  the  white  man 
stood  gave  way.  The  sudden  wrench  tore  the  stick 
also  from  its  place.  Having  thus  lost  all  support,  the 


220     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

unfortunate  man  at  once  slipped  and  slid  and  rolled 
toward  the  brink  of  the  precipice.  He  was  beyond 
human  aid.  Another  moment,  and,  in  spite  of  his 
frantic  efforts  to  clutch  at  the  shelving  bank,  he  dashed 
over  the  edge  of  the  rock  and  passed  out  of  sight  amid 
a  shower  of  small  stones  dislodged  by  his  fall. 

There  is  something  indescribably  frightful  in  the 
sight  of  a  strong  man  thus  powerless  to  avert  his  own 
destruction,  and  when  the  victim  is  a  father  or  brother 
the  horror  is  intensified  a  hundred -fold.  Uncle  Will 
groaned  and  shut  his  eyes. 

But  he  was  a  man  of  action,  and  quickly  recovering 
himself  he  ran  back  along  the  hill  with  Lucky  and 
David  until  they  could  descend  to  the  stream,  up  which 
they  made  their  way  with  reckless  haste.  Lucky  was 
the  most  nimble;  and  as  he  scrambled  to  the  top  of  a 
boulder  which  had  obstructed  his  view  ahead,  his  usual 
stolidity  gave  way  to  a  glad  cry.  Mr.  Bradford  lay  at 
the  foot  of  the  cliff  upon  a  great  bank  of  snow. 

But  he  lay  there  so  still  and  lifeless  that  the  rescuers 
anxiously  hastened  to  his  side.  They  were  immediately 
joined  by  Holy,  whose  face  was  pale  with  dread.  Mr. 
Bradford  had  either  struck  the  cliff  in  his  descent,  or 
had  been  struck  by  one  of  the  stones  which  fell  with 
him,  for  blood  was  flowing  from  a  cut  in  the  forehead, 
and  he  was  unconscious.  Uncle  Will  washed  the 
blood  from  the  wound,  and  wetting  his  handkerchief  in 


THE   GREAT  NUGGET  221 

the  cold  water  of  the  stream,  soon  coaxed  back  the 
life. 

"  Well,  Charley,"  said  he,  in  a  tone  of  intense  satis 
faction  as  he  saw  his  eyes  open,  "  that  was  the  closest 
call  you  ever  had,  but  you  're  coming  through  all  right." 
And  Mr.  Bradford  did.  He  had  been  stunned  and 
shaken,  but  not  seriously  injured,  and  after  an  hour's 
rest  was  able  to  proceed. 

They  had  not  much  farther  to  go.  Lucky,  who  had 
keenly  observed  all  landmarks,  soon  halted  in  the 
rocky  river-bottom  and  began  to  search  carefully  among 
the  boulders.  A  few  minutes  later  he  called  out,  "Big 
nuggit  here !  "  and  pointed  to  a  sort  of  knob  projecting 
from  a  large  rock  in  the  stream.  Uncle  Will  hastened 
to  the  spot  and  saw  at  a  glance  that  this  knob  was  an 
almost  solid  mass  of  yellow  metal.  But  he  was  too 
careful  a  man  to  accept  first  appearances,  and  brought 
the  microscope  to  bear. 

"  Ah !  "  said  he,  and  his  face  grew  long,  "  it 's  fool's 
gold,  after  all, — just  a  big  chunk  of  iron  pyrites." 

"  Why,  it  looks  just  like  gold !  "  declared  Roly,  com 
ing  up.  "  I  never  saw  iron  of  that  color." 

"  Very  likely  not,"  said  his  uncle.  "  This  is  n't  iron 
in  its  pure  state,  but  combined  with  sulphur.  Look 
through  the  microscope  and  you'll  see  that  the  metal 
is  crystallized.  You  won't  find  gold  in  that  shape." 

Lucky  did   not   comprehend   this   explanation,  but  he 


222     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

read  the  disappointment  in  the  faces  of  the  others.  To 
make  him  understand,  Uncle  Will  tapped  the  blade  of 
his  knife  and  said,  "Iron  —  no  good,"  —  a  simple  form 
of  expression  which  the  Indian  easily  interpreted.  He 
too  showed  genuine  disappointment,  for  he  had  intended 
to  do  a  kindness  to  Uncle  Will. 

"  Well,"  said  David,  with  at  least  a  show  of  resigna 
tion,  "  I  suppose  there 's  nothing  to  do  but  retrace 
our  steps." 

"I  don't  care  to  retrace  all  of  mine,"  said  Mr.  Brad 
ford,  whose  pale  face  wore  a  smile  beneath  its  bandage. 

"  Oh !  "  exclaimed  his  brother,  "  but  those  were  n't 
steps !  You  did  n't  take  a  single  step  in  the  whole 
two  hundred  feet!  The  first  fifty  you  slid,  the  next 
hundred  you  rolled,  and  the  last  fifty  you  flew,  and 
we  won't  ask  you  to  do  it  over  again." 

Indeed,  they  were  all  so  thankful  at  Mr.  Bradford's 
escape  that  the  nugget  was  hardly  given  a  thought, 
and  on  the  whole  it  was  a  happy  party  which  returned 
to  Alder  Creek  that  evening. 


AN   INDIAN   CREMATION  223 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

AN    INDIAN    CREMATION 

"  "^  "IT  "TE  'RE  nearly  out  of   sugar  and  salt,"  Uncle 

^y  \/       Will     announced     a     day    or    two     later. 

44  The  water  spoiled  a  good  part  of  what 

we  had  when  my  sled  went  through  the  ice.     Do  you 

feel   like    taking    a    walk    down    to    Dalton's,    Charles, 

while  I  finish  up  these  sluice-boxes?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Mr.  Bradford,  "and  I  might  take 
along  one  of  the  boys." 

So  it  was  decided  that  Roly  and  his  father  should 
go  to  the  trading-post  with  Coffee  Jack  for  guide. 

They  set  out  early  in  the  morning  to  take  advantage 
of  the  lowest  stage  of  the  river,  which,  owing  to  the 
coolness  of  the  last  few  days,  had  fallen  considerably. 
They  were  thus  enabled  to  make  the  fordings  without 
undue  danger,  and  found  themselves  in  about  three 
hours  at  the  mouth  of  the  gorge,  having  stopped  but  a 
moment  at  each  of  the  camps. 

Directly  opposite  them  across  the  valley,  which  ex 
tended,  with  a  uniform  width  of  about  four  miles,  from 
Lake  Dasar-dee-ash  on  the  east  toward  a  range  of  lofty 
peaks  far  to  the  west,  loomed  a  fine  cluster  of  moun- 


224     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

tains  ribbed  with  melting  snow.  By  skirting  the  east 
ern  slopes  of  these  mountains  over  a  new  trail  made 
by  prospectors,  they  would  come  upon  the  Dalton  trail 
at  Klukshu  Lake,  and  this  was  the  route  Mr.  Bradford 
preferred,  but  Coffee  Jack  was  not  familiar  with  it  and 
desired  to  follow  the  old  Indian  trail  to  the  west  of  the 
mountains.  Accordingly,  they  passed  out  of  the  gorge 
along  the  great  dry  gravel  deposit,  which  they  followed 
in  its  turn  to  the  right,  having  first  exchanged  their 
rubber  boots,  with  which  they  could  now  dispense,  for 
the  stout  shoes  which  they  had  slung  across  their 
shoulders.  The  boots  were  hung  in  the  forks  of  a 
clump  of  willows,  where  they  could  easily  be  found  on 
their  return. 

Mr.  Bradford  called  Roly's  attention  to  the  long 
stretch  of  treeless  gravel  curving  to  the  west. 

"It  is  evident,"  said  he,  "that  the  Kah  Sha  River 
once  flowed  in  this  westerly  course,  but  having  choked 
itself  up  by  successive  accumulations  of  gravel  and 
boulders  ejected  from  the  gorge  in  its  spring  floods,  it 
now  takes  the  opposite  direction  and  empties  into 
Lake  Dasar-dee-ash." 

"That's  something  I  never  should  have  thought  of," 
said  Roly,  with  interest,  "and  it's  plain  enough,  too." 

"  You  can  read  a  good  deal  of  geological  history," 
observed  his  father,  "by  keeping  your  eyes  open  and 
noticing  simple  things.  Every  boulder,  cliff,  and  sand- 


AN  INDIAN   CREMATION  225 

bank   has  a  story  to  tell  of  the  forces  of  ice,  flood,  or 
fire." 

At  length  Coffee  Jack  left  the  low  ground,  which 
had  become  swampy,  and  followed  a  line  of  foot-hills, 
where  the  trail  could  sometimes  be  discerned  by  Mr. 
Bradford  and  Roly,  but  more  often  not.  The  young 
guide  walked  silently,  with  his  head  bent  and  his  eyes 
fixed  upon  the  ground. 

"No  white  man  would  be  content  with  a  trail  like 
this,"  Mr.  Bradford  remarked.  "The  white  man 
blazes  the  trees  and  looks  up  for  his  signs,  while  the 
Indian  relies  upon  footprints,  faint  though  they  may 
be,  and  looks  down.  I  imagine  that  by  their  manner 
of  following  a  trail  you  may  gain  an  insight  into  the 
characteristics  of  the  two  races,  —  the  one  alert,  hope 
ful,  business-like,  brainy;  the  other  keen  of  instinct, 
easy-going,  stealthy,  and  moody." 

"But  what  signs  does  Coffee  Jack  see?"  inquired 
Roly.  "There  are  plenty  of  places  where  I  can't  see 
any  path,  but  he  goes  right  along." 

"The  marks  are  various,"  said  his  father.  "It  may 
be  that  the  grass  is  matted  or  less  vigorous  or  of  an 
altered  hue  where  it  has  been  trodden,  or  a  twig  may 
be  broken,  or  a  mouldering  tree-trunk  rubbed  a  little, 
but  I  presume  that  in  such  a  place  as  this  the  boy  is 
guided  partly  by  his  knowledge  that  the  trail  follows 
the  side  of  these  hills  at  about  this  height." 

15 


226     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

Coffee  Jack  discovered  footprints  of  the  moose  and 
the  caribou  in  several  places,  and  took  delight  in  point 
ing  them  out  to  his  companions,  whose  powers  of  ob 
servation  he  evidently  did  not  rate  very  high.  He  gave 
them,  too,  a  glimpse  of  a  large  lake  to  the  northwest 
which  was  not  on  the  map 

Late  the  second  afternoon  they  circled  a  small  lake, 
swung  around  the  southern  slopes  of  the  mountains  on 
their  left,  and  entered  the  main  trail  on  the  summit  of 
the  great  hill  above  the  Stik  village.  How  changed 
was  the  valley  of  the  Alsek  since  last  they  looked  upon 
it!  Where  before  were  snow  and  ice  now  smiled  a 
landscape  of  rich  green.  Below  them  clustered  the 
Indian  houses  in  a  grassy  clearing  by  the  river.  The 
sound  of  voices  and  the  barking  of  dogs  came  plainly 
up.  It  was  difficult  to  realize  that  they  were  not  look 
ing  on  a  white  man's  village,  yet  not  until  they  reached 
the  trading-post,  now  surrounded  with  the  white  tents 
of  incoming  prospectors,  would  they  see  any  members 
of  their  own  race. 

Ike  Martin  received  them  cordially,  and  after  the 
sugar  and  salt  had  been  weighed  out  he  suddenly  ex 
claimed,  "  By  the  way,  here 's  something  more  for 
you ! "  and  took  from  the  drawer  of  an  old  desk  a 
batch  of  letters,  which  he  handed  to  Mr.  Bradford, 
remarking  that  an  Indian  had  brought  them  in  with 
mail  for  the  Thirty-six. 


AN  INDIAN   CREMATION  227 

To  say  that  these  were  received  with  delight  would 
be  putting  it  mildly.  The  wanderers  repaired  in  haste 
to  their  tent,  where  the  missives  from  home  were 
eagerly  read;  and  although  the  latest  letter  was  just  a 
month  old,  yet  so  long  had  they  been  exiled  that  all 
this  news  seemed  fresh  and  recent.  At  home  all  were 
well  and  in  good  spirits.  Knowing  how  anxious  her 
husband  and  sons  would  be  for  accounts  of  the  war, 
Mrs.  Bradford  had  sent  many  clippings  from  news 
papers,  which  Mr.  Bradford  and  Roly  devoured  with  hun 
gry  eyes,  reading  and  re-reading  them  far  into  the  night. 

Early  next  morning,  before  his  father  was  awake, 
Roly,  acting  on  a  hint  from  Ike,  stole  over  to  the 
Klukshu  River  where  it  joins  the  Alsek,  and  with 
red  salmon-roe  supplied  by  the  obliging  storekeeper 
coaxed  forth  half  a  dozen  handsome  brook  trout. 
These  he  supplemented  with  some  of  the  fresh  dande 
lion  leaves  which  grew  abundantly  near  the  storehouse, 
and  the  three  had  a  most  enjoyable  breakfast. 

"  Better  stop  at  the  Stik  village,"  advised  Ike,  as 
they  were  preparing  to  return.  "  There 's  going  to  be 
a  cremation,  and  it  '11  be  worth  seeing." 

So  Mr.  Bradford,  Roly,  and  Coffee  Jack,  with  their 
light  packs  on  their  backs,  walked  leisurely  down  the 
trail  in  company  with  several  prospectors.  Among 
their  companions  were  the  two  nephews  of  Mrs. 
Shirley,  whom  they  had  assisted  at  the  fords  in  March. 


228     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

"So  the  ladies  gave  it  up,  did  they?"  said  Mr. 
Bradford,  in  the  course  of  the  conversation. 

"Yes,"  answered  one  of  the  young  men.  "They 
came  as  far  as  Pleasant  Camp,  but  found  it  best  to 
stop  there  while  we  two  went  in  and  located  claims. 
We've  just  been  out  to  the  coast  with  them,  and  now 
we're  going  back  to  work  the  claims." 

At  the  village  Ike  joined  them,  and  others  came  at 
intervals  until  the  entire  white  population  of  the  trad 
ing-post  was  present.  The  body  to  be  burned  was  that 
of  a  young  Indian  who  had  died  of  consumption.  Be 
fore  the  house  in  which  he  lay,  the  natives  and  the 
white  men  assembled  and  awaited  the  appearance  of 
the  family,  while  dogs  of  all  ages,  sizes,  and  degrees, 
attracted  by  the  concourse,  ran  restlessly  about  the 
place,  barking  or  quarrelling  as  their  dispositions 
prompted. 

At  length  the  door  opened,  and  the  female  rela 
tives  of  the  deceased  issued,  both  young  and  old,  all 
bareheaded,  and  attired  in  their  best,  though  faded, 
calico  dresses.  They  grouped  themselves  before  the 
door,  and  were  followed  by  the  men,  also  evidently 
dressed  in  their  best.  Some  of  them  had  wound  bright 
blue  or  red  ribbons  around  their  dark  felt  hats. 

The  body  was  borne  out  of  the  house  on  a  rude 
litter  covered  with  a  blanket,  and  its  appearance  was 
the  signal  for  an  unearthly  chorus  of  wails  and  lamen- 


AN   INDIAN   CREMATION  229 

tations  from  the  women,  who  continued  to  howl  until 
the  procession  was  well  on  its  way  to  the  graveyard, 
the  men,  meanwhile,  preserving  countenances  of  the 
most  unruffled  indifference. 

The  graveyard  was  a  grassy  level  containing  a  row 
of  miniature  wooden  houses  with  glass  windows  and 
sloping  roofs,  which  looked  for  all  the  world  like  chil 
dren's  playhouses.  They  were  raised  about  three  feet 
above  the  ground  on  stout  wooden  supports.  The  store 
keeper  informed  Mr.  Bradford  and  Roly  that  the  ashes 
of  the  dead  were  deposited  in  boxes  in  these  houses. 

As  the  procession  reached  the  cemetery,  four  rifle 
shots  were  fired  into  the  air  by  those  about  the  corpse, 
which  was  then  placed  within  a  pyre  of  dry  spruce 
logs,  made  ready  to  receive  it.  Fire  was  applied  to 
the  pile,  and  soon  the  logs  were  blazing  fiercely. 

And  now  into  the  midst  of  the  flames,  to  Roly's 
great  surprise,  was  thrown  all  the  property  of  the  dead 
Indian,  including  a  good  rifle  and  a  watch.  However 
wasteful  this  custom  might  appear  to  the  white  men, 
they  could  not  but  respect  the  feelings  which  led  these 
poor  children  of  the  wilderness  to  part  with  treasures 
to  them  so  valuable.  The  dead  man  would  need  his 
blankets,  his  rifle,  and  his  watch  in  the  happy  hunting- 
grounds,  and  some  morsels  of  food  for  the  journey 
were  not  forgotten. 

Meanwhile    the  women  wailed   and   moaned  with   the 


230     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TEAIL 

tears  streaming  down  their  dark  faces,  as  they  sat  upon 
the  turf  and  watched  the  curling  smoke  and  leaping 
flames.  When  Mr.  Bradford  turned  away  toward  the 
hill,  it  was  with  a  feeling  that  grief  is  very  much  the 
same  thing  all  the  world  over. 


THE  PLAGUE   OF  MOSQUITOES  231 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  PLAGUE  OP  MOSQUITOES 

HAVING  learned  that  he  would  find  upon  a 
tree  near  Klukshu  Lake  directions  for  follow 
ing  the  new  trail  to  Shorty  Creek,  as  the  dis 
trict  was  popularly  called,  Mr.  Bradford  determined  to 
return  by  the  Dalton  trail  to  the  lake,  as  the  relief 
party  of  the  Thirty-six  had  done.  Here  and  there 
along  the  way  they  saw  traces  of  the  winter's  travel. 
Broken  sleds  and  gee-poles,  stumps  of  trees,  and  the 
ashes  of  camp-fires  recalled  the  memory  of  labors  amid 
the  ice  and  snow  which  now,  in  the  heat  of  summer, 
seemed  like  a  dream. 

Up  to  this  time  the  mosquitoes  had  been  rather  large, 
but  neither  numerous  nor  aggressive.  But  now  on  a 
sudden  came  myriads  of  small  ones,  evidently  a  new 
crop,  voracious,  persistent,  overwhelming.  They  swarmed 
up  from  every  marsh  until  their  combined  singing  made 
a  continuous  murmur  in  the  trees,  and  the  travellers, 
who  were  without  head-nets,  were  forced  to  protect 
their  necks  with  handkerchiefs,  and  their  faces  with 
small  branches,  which  they  must  needs  wave  to  and 
fro  incessantly. 


232     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

Camp  was  pitched  near  the  Klukshu  River,  where  two 
ancient  and  abandoned  Indian  houses  stood,  in  a  level 
valley  mostly  free  from  trees.  The  low  bushes  in  the 
neighborhood  allowed  the  breeze  free  play,  and  it  was 
hoped  that  here  the  mosquitoes  would  be  less  numerous. 
There  was  no  getting  away  from  them  entirely,  how 
ever,  and  a  fire  was  speedily  built  in  order  that  the 
smoke  might  aid  in  discouraging  the  pests. 

The  two  houses,  which  they  had  noticed  as  they 
passed  in  April,  were  constructed  of  hewn  boards  gray 
with  age.  Such  a  wealth  of  ready  fuel  in  a  spot  so  poor 
in  timber  had  proved  irresistible  alike  to  prospectors 
and  Indians,  and  the  entire  roof  of  one  hut  and  much 
of  the  roof  of  the  other  had  gone  up  in  camp-fire 
smoke.  Mr.  Bradford  was  averse,  however,  to  further 
despoiling  either  structure,  and  directed  Roly  and  Coffee 
Jack  to  gather  up  only  such  loose  boards  and  odd 
pieces  as  were  lying  about  on  the  ground. 

While  roasting  several  red  squirrels  brought  down 
with  a  revolver,  they  were  startled  by  a  sudden  snort 
in  the  bushes  near  by,  followed  by  a  crackling  of  twigs 
as  some  heavy  animal  made  off  precipitately.  The  three 
jumped  to  their  feet  and  searched  through  the  thicket 
in  that  direction,  but  could  see  nothing  of  the  beast 
which  had  caused  the  alarm.  There  could  be  little 
doubt,  however,  that  it  was  a  bear. 

"  If  we  're  going  to  have  visitors   of  that  kind,"  said 


THE   PLAGUE   OF  MOSQUITOES  233 

Mr.  Bradford,  as  he  returned  his  revolver  to  his  belt, 
"  we  '11  pitch  the  tent  in  one  of  the  houses.  I  don't 
anticipate  any  trouble,  but  bears  are  brimful  of  curi 
osity,  and  it's  just  as  well  to  put  ourselves  and  our 
belongings  out  of  their  reach." 

This  suggestion  pleased  Roly,  whose  imagination, 
boylike,  seized  eagerly  upon  the  idea  of  converting  the 
better  of  the  two  houses  into  a  fort  and  barricading  it 
against  the  enemy.  He  collected  an  abundance  of  soft 
shrubbery  and  spread  it  upon  the  floor  of  the  hut, 
while  Mr.  Bradford,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  the 
unwelcome  prowler,  cut  some  tent-poles  on  a  distant 
hillside. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  tent  was  set  up  within  the 
hut,  and,  being  mosquito-proof,  it  promised  a  complete 
refuge  from  at  least  one  foe.  A  sufficient  number  of 
boards  was  now  appropriated  from  the  other  cabin  to 
cover  the  portion  of  the  roof  above  the  tent.  Then 
the  packs  were  brought  in,  and  finally  Roly  arranged 
a  door  of  boards.  This  done,  the  fort  was  declared 
impregnable,  and  the  tired  travellers  turned  in,  well 
assured  of  complete  security. 

Coffee  Jack  had  brought  no  tent,  and  as  there  was 
no  extra  space  in  that  of  his  companions,  he  rolled 
himself  in  his  blanket,  head  and  all,  till  he  seemed  to 
invite  suffocation,  and  lay  down  on  a  bed  of  leaves  in 
a  corner  of  the  cabin,  where  "he  slept  comfortably 


234     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

enough,  except  that  his  breathing  was  heavy  and  labored 
for  lack  of  air. 

The  mosquitoes  were  even  more  numerous  next  day, 
and  the  travellers  were  obliged  to  keep  in  motion. 
Flowers  were  springing  up  on  every  side.  There 
were  strawberry  blossoms,  which  awakened  great  hopes. 
There  were  violets  and  forget-me-nots  and  yarrow,  and 
almost  touching  elbows  with  the  flowers  of  spring 
flamed  the  autumnal  golden-rod,  so  brief  in  that  high 
latitude  was  the  season  of  warmth. 

The  Indian  boy  pointed  out  with  delight  a  large- 
leaved  plant  with  a  hollow,  juicy  stalk,  which  grew 
abundantly  in  shady  places,  exclaiming,  "  Muck-muck ! 
Good  I  Make  strong !  "  Seeing  him  eagerly  stripping 
the  stringy  fibres  from  the  stalks  and  eating  the  soft 
inner  part,  Mr.  Bradford  and  Roly  followed  his  ex 
ample,  and  found  that  the  flavor  was  of  a  medicinal 
sort,  but  sweet  and  not  unpleasant.  The  leaves  were 
shaped  somewhat  like  those  of  a  maple  tree,  but  were 
of  lighter  green.  Coffee  Jack  could  give  no  name  to 
the  plant. 

"  Its  flavor  reminds  me  a  little  of  celery,"  said  Roly. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bradford ;  "  but  in  some  respects  the 
plant  more  resembles  rhubarb,  and  as  that  is,  I  believe, 
a  native  of  Asia,  this  may  be  a  variety  which  has 
crossed  Behring  Strait.  If  the  taste  were  sour,  I  should 
be  pretty  certain  of  it.1" 


THE   PLAGUE   OF  MOSQUITOES  235 

Camped  at  the  foot  of  Klukshu  Lake  on  a  pleasant 
knoll  east  of  the  river,  they  found  Reitz  and  Johnson, 
two  of  their  friends  of  Pennock's  Post.  Reitz  said 
they  were  stationed  there  to  catch  salmon  for  the  main 
party  on  the  Kah  Sha  River,  and  from  what  they  could 
learn  from  the  natives  the  fish  ought  to  come  up-stream 
very  soon. 

A  family  of  Indians  were  quartered  on  the  low  ground 
west  of  the  river  near  the  cabin  in  which  the  wounded 
Lucky  had  been  left  in  the  winter.  They  also  were 
awaiting  the  salmon,  which  constitutes  the  chief  food 
of  the  Alaskan  tribes. 

"How  would  you  like  to  spend  a  week  with  us, 
Roly?"  asked  Reitz,  as  the  three  were  about  to  con 
tinue  their  journey.  "  You  enjoy  fishing,  don't  you  ?  " 

Roly  answered  that  he  would  like  to  stay  very  well, 
and  his  father  readily  consented.  "  You  can  take  this 
tent,"  said  the  latter.  "It's  only  ten  miles  to  Moran's 
Camp,  and  I  guess  you  can  find  your  way  there  when 
the  week's  up." 

"Oh,  yes!"  declared  Roly,  without  hesitation.  "I'll 
get  along  aU  right."  He  added,  as  he  counted  a  score 
of  mosquitoes  killed  at  one  slap,  "If  you  get  a  chance 
to  send  my  head-net  down,  I  guess  I  can  use  it." 

"We'll  try  to,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  as  he  and  the 
Indian  boy  re-crossed  the  river  on  a  mass  of  ddbris. 

No  sooner  had    Coffee    Jack  exchanged  a  few  words 


236     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

with  the  Indian  family  than  he  fell  into  a  fit  of  the 
sulks.  He  cast  more  than  one  fond  glance  at  a  little 
Indian  girl  of  about  his  own  age,  and  Mr.  Bradford 
heard  the  father  of  the  family  repeat  the  word  "  potlash  " 
several  times.  As  this  term  signifies  a  feast,  it  was 
clear  that  Coffee  Jack  had  been  invited  to  dine. 

Mr.  Bradford  had  determined  to  push  on  a  few  miles 
in  order  to  reach  the  Kah  Sha  gorge  early  next  morn 
ing  before  the  time  of  high  water.  But  when  he 
undertook  to  find  the  trail,  which  was  here  invisible 
across  a  level  deposit  of  small  stones,  he  found  him 
self  baffled. 

"Where's  the  Shorty  Creek  trail,  Coffee  Jack?" 
he  asked. 

"Shorty  Kick  fail?"  said  Coffee,  with  well-feigned 
innocence.  "I  dunno." 

Now,  Coffee  Jack  had  been  uniformly  treated  with 
kindness,  and  was  certain  to  be  so  long  as  he  deserved 
it,  but  when  he  said,  "I  dunno,"  Mr.  Bradford  had 
every  reason  to  think  he  was  stretching  the  truth  and 
presuming  upon  his  own  good-nature.  In  view  of  the 
falsehood  he  resolved  to  teach  the  boy  his  duty.  It 
would  never  do  to  let  him  override  the  will  of  his 
employer. 

"You  don't  know?"  repeated  Mr.  Bradford,  with 
the  frown  and  voice  of  a  thunder-cloud.  "Tell  me 
where  that  trail  is,  quick ! " 


THE  PLAGUE  OF  MOSQUITOES  237 

As  he  said  this,  he  raised  his  stick  so  threateningly 
over  Coffee  Jack's  head  that  the  boy,  fearing  instant 
annihilation,  produced  the  information  with  incredible 
speed. 

"  Shorty  Kick  t'ail  there,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the 
edge  of  a  grove  of  great  balm-of-Gilead  trees,  to  which 
he  led  the  way  without  another  word. 

At  the  first  stream,  perhaps  two  miles  beyond,  Coffee 
Jack  declared  that  there  was  no  more  water  for  five 
miles.  He  had  evidently  obtained  information  regard 
ing  the  new  trail  from  the  Indian  at  the  foot  of  the 
lake,  and  as  Mr.  Bradford  did  not  believe  the  lad  would 
lie  again,  he  halted  for  the  night.  The  white  man  all 
the  while  had  a  tender  place  in  his  heart  for  the  young 
Indian  lover,  and  when  the  boy  asked  permission  to  go 
back,  he  readily  gave  it.  So  Coffee  Jack,  delighted, 
ran  swiftly  down  the  trail  toward  the  dusky  little 
maiden  and  the  "potlash." 


238     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

LOST  IN  THE    MOUNTAINS 

FOR  several  days  after  Roly's  arrival  at  Klukshu 
Lake  all  efforts  to  catch  fish  were  unavailing. 
The  weather  was  now  warm  and  dry,  and  the 
thick,  smoky  atmosphere  indicated  an  extensive  forest 
fire  at  no  great  distance.  The  salmon  had  not  appeared, 
and  there  was  no  sign  of  brook  trout  in  this  part 
of  the  Klukshu  River,  consequently  the  energies  of  the 
campers  were  directed  toward  the  lake.  A  raft  was 
built,  by  the  aid  of  which  lines  were  set  in  deep  water 
near  the  outlet,  the  hooks  baited  with  raw  bacon,  —  but 
not  a  fish  was  caught. 

A  small  party  of  Canadian  mounted  police  —  fine, 
stalwart  fellows  — appeared  at  this  time  on  their  way 
to  Five  Finger  Rapids,  and  the  hearts  of  the  exiled 
fishermen  were  rejoiced.  Their  arrival  meant  that  horses 
could  now  come  in  from  the  coast,  and  Reitz  and 
Johnson  began  to  look  eagerly  for  the  first  instalment 
of  supplies  for  the  Thirty-six.  Several  prospectors  with 
small  pack  trains  followed  the  police,  and  invariably 
camped  on  a  dry  meadow  at  the  foot  of  the  lake. 
The  tinkle  of  the  bell  of  the  leading  horse  sometimes 


LOST    IN  THE   MOUNTAINS  239 

floated  up  to  the  knoll  where  the  tents  of  Roly  and  his 
companions  stood,  and  conjured  up  memories  of  pastures 
far  away.  Had  the  prospectors  only  known  it  and  cared 
to  take  the  trouble,  they  would  have  found  far  better 
pasturage  on  the  hillsides  above  the  timber  line,  where 
the  grasses  grew  tall  and  luxuriant. 

A  happy  thought  on  the  part  of  Roly  was  the  means 
of  solving  the  fishing  problem.  Bacon  was  evidently 
worthless  as  bait,  there  was  not  an  angle-worm  in  the 
country  so  far  as  he  knew,  and  grasshoppers  were  sel 
dom  seen;  but  he  had  noticed  shoals  of  young  fish 
like  minnows  in  the  outlet,  and  thought  that  if  they 
could  be  caught  they  would  make  excellent  bait. 
The  others  thought  so  too,  and  Reitz  contrived  an  in 
genious  scoop-net  out  of  a  willow  branch  and  some 
mosquito  netting,  which  proved  very  effective. 

Roly's  week  would  be  up  on  the  following  day.  It 
was  agreed  that  in  the  morning  a  supreme  effort  should 
be  made  by  the  three,  and  as  Moran's  Camp  lay  directly 
in  his  path,  Roly  volunteered  to  carry  the  fish  if  they 
should  be  successful. 

At  an  early  hour  he  rolled  his  tent  and  blankets  into 
a  pack  and  set  off  with  his  friends,  who  had  provided 
a  luncheon  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  minnows.  The 
main  trail  followed  the  east  shore,  but  there  was  an 
other  along  the  western  which  connected  about  half 
way  up  the  lake  with  the  new  trail  to  Shorty  Creek. 


240     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

At  the  junction  of  the  two  was  the  tree  upon  which 
the  directions  had  been  written. 

The  party  passed  this  tree  and  continued  along  the 
lake,  their  objective  point  being  a  certain  rocky  shore 
where  they  hoped  to  find  deep  water.  IJaving  reached 
this  spot,  they  lost  no  time  in  cutting  slender  poles  of 
poplar  and  attaching  the  lines.  Floats,  or  bobs,  were 
made  from  bits  of  wood,  and  the  baited  hook  was 
allowed  to  sink  ten  or  twelve  feet. 

It  was  some  time  before  the  finny  inhabitants  of  the 
depths  discovered  the  tempting  morsels  thrown  out  to 
them,  but  at  last  Holy's  float  began  to  tremble  in  a 
way  that  could  not  be  attributed  to  the  wavelets,  and 
the  next  instant  down  it  went  under  the  clear  water. 
Now  was  the  time  to  strike,  and  the  boy  raised  his 
pole  with  a  quick  firm  jerk. 

The  fish  was  securely  hooked,  and  proved  both  strong 
and  gamy;  but  as  soon  as  it  tired,  it  was  drawn  gradu 
ally  toward  the  shore  and  up  near  the  surface  of  the 
water.  It  was  a  four-pound  lake  trout  and  a  beauty. 
Holy  landed  the  prize  with  the  assistance  of  his 
friends,  and  stowed  it  safely  away  in  the  shade  of  the 
rocks  in  an  empty  flour  sack. 

At  the  very  next  nibble,  however,  fortune  turned 
against  him.  The  fish  broke  the  line  and  carried  away 
his  only  hook ;  and  as  his  companions  had  but  one  hook 
apiece,  he  was  forced  to  abandon  the  sport.  Before  the 


LOST  IN   THE  MOUNTAINS  241 

fish  stopped  biting,  the  two  men  had  caught  four  trout, 
all  of  about  the  same  size. 

Having  lunched,  and  dressed  the  fish,  the  three  agreed 
about  two  o'clock  that  Roly  ought  to  start,  especially 
as  the  first  thunder-storm  of  the  season  was  growling 
and  threatening  in  the  mountains  to  the  east.  With 
fish,  tent,  and  blankets,  and  David's  camera,  which  he 
had  carried  upon  this  excursion,  he  had  a  load  of  about 
thirty  pounds,  which  Reitz  carried  for  him  as  far  as  the 
guide-tree. 

The  inscription  on  the  tree  was  written  in  pencil  on 
a  space  freed  from  bark,  and  stated  that  by  holding  a 
course  two  points  north  of  west  for  a  mile  a  clear  trail 
would  be  found. 

"Have  you  a  compass,  Roly?"  asked  Johnson. 

"Yes." 

"  Well,  then,  strike  off  here  and  keep  the  direction 
carefully,  and  you  won't  have  any  trouble.  There's  a 
stretch  of  burnt  and  fallen  timber  where  the  trail  has 
been  wiped  out,  but  beyond  that  it's  a  plain  path." 

"  And  remember  to  keep  the  trout  you  caught,"  added 
Reitz,  as  he  said  good-by. 

Roly  started  off  in  good  spirits.  He  had  his  uncle's 
revolver  with  him,  but  there  was  little  reason  to  appre 
hend  danger  from  wild  beasts.  If  he  let  them  alone, 
they  would  be  pretty  certain  to  return  the  favor.  As 
to  finding  the  way,  he  knew  the  general  direction  in 

16 


242     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

which  the  Kah  Sha  gorge  lay,  for  he  could  occasionally 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Dasar-dee-ash  Mountains  eight 
miles  to  the  northwest.  Nearer,  not  more  than  two  miles 
away,  loomed  the  familiar  Conical  Mountain,  and  to  the 
right  of  it  another  summit,  the  two  forming  the  north 
ernmost  elevations  of  an  extensive  mountain  system 
running  far  back  toward  Dalton's  Post. 

From  the  directions  on  the  tree  the  boy  conceived 
the  idea  that  his  route  lay  between  Conical  Mountain 
and  its  right-hand  neighbor,  in  a  narrow  pass  which  he 
could  see  very  distinctly.  So,  without  depending  longer 
on  the  compass,  he  fixed  his  course  at  once  toward  this 
gap,  struggling  through  a  new  growth  of  bushes  and 
stepping  over  or  crawling  under  the  fallen  trees  as 
best  he  could.  A  fresh  breeze  along  the  lake  had  kept 
away  the  mosquitoes  while  he  had  been  on  the  rocks; 
but  here  it  was  more  sheltered,  and  the  little  pests, 
attracted  by  the  smell  of  the  fish,  swarmed  about  him 
and  nearly  drove  him  frantic,  for  he  was  still  without 
a  head-net  and  gloves. 

An  hour  of  this  slow  and  difficult  travel  brought  him 
into  the  growing  forest,  and  he  kept  his  eyes  open  for 
the  path.  Denser  and  denser  the  woods  became 
until  it  was  hardly  possible  to  force  a  passage.  In  a 
little  swampy  glen  he  found  the  prints  of  a  bear's 
great  paw  on  the  moss,  but  what  caused  him  much 
more  anxiety  was  the  sight,  welcome  as  it  was,  of  a 


LOST  IN  THE   MOUNTAINS  243 

little  brook.  Reitz  had  told  him  that  for  nearly  five 
miles  from  the  guide-tree  there  was  no  water  on  the 
trail.  Yet  here  was  water !  Plainly,  then,  he  had  made 
some  error  and  had  lost  his  way. 

Roly  was  not  easily  frightened,  but  the  thought  of 
wandering  through  that  lonely  forest  longer  than  was 
absolutely  necessary  was  anything  but  pleasing.  To  be 
sure,  he  would  not  starve,  for  he  had  the  fish,  but  it 
was  disquieting  to  be  off  the  trail.  He  would  have 
liked  to  sit  down  a  few  minutes  to  consider  the  situa 
tion,  but  the  mosquitoes  would  not  let  him  rest.  He 
could  only  pause  long  enough  to  take  a  deep  draught 
from  the  brook,  then  on  he  must  go  again,  and  do  his 
reflecting  as  he  walked. 

He  now  came  upon  a  path  fairly  well  defined,  which 
led,  without  a  doubt,  straight  into  the  pass  before  him. 
This  was  probably  the  trail  he  sought.  At  any  rate,  its 
general  direction  was  assuring,  and  he  reasoned  that  it 
must  bring  him  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains 
in  plain  view  of  the  Kah  Sha  gorge,  which  he  could 
then  reach  by  crossing  four  miles  of  valley.  So  he 
followed  the  path,  which  appeared  little  used,  and 
presently  came  to  the  brow  of  a  high,  shelving  bank. 

The  steep  side  of  Conical  Mountain,  patched  with 
old  snow-banks,  towered  on  his  left,  while  the  end 
mountain  of  the  chain  rose  to  the  right.  Before  him 
in  the  hollow  was  a  level,  grassy  amphitheatre,  on  the 


244     GOLD-SEEKING    ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

farther  side  of  which  opened  out  a  narrow  passage,  also 
grassy  and  treeless.  The  absolute  seclusion  of  the  place 
made  it  an  admirable  retreat  for  wild  game  and,  indeed, 
for  robbers,  and  the  imaginative  Holy  looked  carefully 
around  before  he  ventured  to  descend  into  it.  There 
was  not  a  living  creature  to  be  seen.  The  path  crossed 
the  circular  meadow  and  followed  the  narrow  pass  be 
yond,  and  as  it  was  level,  firm,  and  unobstructed,  the 
boy  walked  rapidly. 

He  had  proceeded  in  this  way  nearly  a  mile  between 
the  slopes  of  the  two  mountains,  when  he  came  upon  a 
beautiful  lakelet  whose  placid  waters  filled  the  valley  — 
now  somewhat  wider  —  from  side  to  side.  In  the  shal 
low  water  near  the  shore  he  could  see  several  small  fish 
basking  just  below  the  surface.  As  for  the  trail,  it  had 
disappeared,  and  there  was  no  trace  of  it  along  either 
side  of  the  water.  Indeed,  the  steep  ridges  looked 
quite  impassable,  from  which  he  concluded  that  the 
path  had  been  made  by  Indians  or  wild  game,  or  both, 
whose  objective  point  was  the  lake.  There  could  be 
little  doubt  that  he  was  the  first  white  person  who  had 
penetrated  here,  —  a  thought  which  quite  tickled  his 
fancy,  so  he  photographed  the  lake  in  proof  of  this  bit 
of  original  exploration. 

He  was  now  obliged  to  return  through  the  defile, 
fully  convinced  that  the  new  trail  passed  around  the 
outer  mountain.  Goaded  on  by  swarms  of  mosquitoes 


LOST  IN   THE   MOUNTAINS  245 

and  compelled  to  wave  a  leafy  branch  continually  across 
his  heated  face,  he  struck  the  trail  at  last,  and  soon 
afterward  found  a  sparkling  brook  at  the  foot  of  a  high 
hill.  If  this  was  the  water  mentioned  by  Reitz,  he 
had  come  only  half  the  direct  distance,  in  spite  of  his 
long,  tiresome  tramp.  He  drank,  then  pressed  forward 
through  a  region  of  bogs  and  woods,  crossed  a  muddy 
stream  on  a  log,  and  set  off  across  the  four  miles  of 
valley.  Here  the  walking  was  good.  The  gorge  was 
now  plainly  in  view,  and  he  thought  his  labors  nearly 
at  an  end. 

Unfortunately,  it  was  the  wrong  time  of  day  to  ford 
the  Kah  Sha.  It  had  been  warm  for  a  week,  and  the 
water  was  high  again.  Besides,  the  stream  was  now 
swollen  with  the  meltings  of  the  day.  Roly  could  hear 
an  ominous  roar  long  before  he  could  see  the  river. 

He  encountered  it  first  in  the  woods,  where  it  spread 
out  into  so  many  channels  that  each  was  comparatively 
shallow.  Some  of  these  he  crossed  on  logs,  and  others 
he  waded  without  getting  very  wet,  but  when  he  came 
out  upon  the  open  stretch  of  gravel  the  outlook  was  far 
from  encouraging.  Compressed  into  one  or  two  princi 
pal  channels  and  filling  its  banks  to  the  brim,  the  river 
was  thundering,  madly  down  from  the  gorge.  Not  a  log 
was  in  sight,  and  yet  the  stream  must  be  crossed  three 
or  four  times  to  reach  Moran's  Camp. 

Roly's   heart  sank  as   he  gazed  on   the  hurrying  tor- 


246     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

rent,  but  he  resolved  to  make  the  attempt.  He  there 
fore  returned  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  and  cut  a  stout 
pole  with  which  to  try  the  depth  of  the  water  and  brace 
himself  against  the  current.  His  rubber  boots,  if  his 
father  had  left  them  in  the  willows,  were  on  the  other 
side  of  the  stream,  so  it  was  useless  to  think  of  keeping 
dry. 

Carefully  selecting  a  point  where  the  stream  ran  in 
two  channels,  the  boy  waded  into  the  first  and  smaller 
of  the  two.  The  water  came  to  his  knees,  but  with  the 
assistance  of  the  pole  he  crossed  in  safety.  On  trying 
the  other,  however,  he  found  the  volume  of  water  much 
greater.  The  current  almost  whirled  his  feet  from  be 
neath  him  at  every  step.  The  icy  water  surged 
higher  and  higher  till  it  was  far  above  his  knees,  and 
now  it  was  wellnigh  impossible  to  hold  the  pole  firmly 
down  to  the  bottom.  He  felt  the  stones  roll  against 
his  feet  as  the  flood  swept  them  along,  and,  worst  of  all, 
the  deepest  part  was  not  yet  passed.  The  bed  of  the 
stream  shelved  plainly  down.  To  go  on  would  be  folly. 
It  was  nearly  as  difficult  to  go  back,  but  he  managed  to 
turn  slowly  and  dizzily  and  reach  the  shore  he  had  just 
left.  Tired  and  wet,  he  longed  to  rest,  but  even  here 
his  insect  tormentors  had  followed. 

There  was  but  one  thing  to  do.  He  must  climb  the 
hills  on  the  side  of  the  gorge  and  work  his  way  along 
at  a  height  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet  until  he  could 


LOST  IN   THE  MOUNTAINS  247 

scramble  down  to  the  camp.  It  was  a  rough  ascent 
through  bushes  and  over  fallen  timber,  and  the  boy  was 
utterly  spent  when  at  last  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
little  cabin  and  the  white  tents  of  the  Thirty-six  far 
below. 

He  had  been  steadily  tramping  from  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  it  was  now  nine  in  the  evening.  But 
he  had  obstinately  clung  to  the  fish  with  which  he  had 
been  intrusted,  knowing  how  welcome  they  would  be 
to  the  dwellers  by  the  river.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
Roly  was  received  with  open  arms  by  Moran  and  his 
men,  who  gave  him  dry  clothes  and  a  hearty  supper, 
and  many  compliments  on  his  pluck  and  perseverance. 
A  place  was  cleared  for  his  blanket-bed  in  one  of  the 
tents,  and  nothing  would  do  next  morning  but  he  must 
share  with  his  friends  a  delicious  breakfast  of  fried  trout 
before  setting  out  for  Alder  Creek. 


248     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXX 

WASHING  OUT  THE  GOLD 

"  "IT   "W"  ELLO !     you  've    brought    us    a    trout,    have 

you?"    cried    Uncle    Will,  cheerily,   as    he 

untied  Holy's  pack.     The  boy  had  succeeded 

in  reaching  Alder  Creek  during  the  morning  period  of 

low  water. 

"  Yes,"  said  Roly,  and  related  his  experiences  to  the 
interested  group. 

"  You  got  along  better  at  this  end  of  the  journey  than 
I  feared  you  would,"  said  his  father.  "  I  expected  you 
yesterday,  and  when  I  saw  how  high  the  water  would 
be,  I  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  gorge  to  help 
you,  but  there  were  no  signs  of  you  at  seven  o'clock." 

"You  must  come  and  see  the  rocker  and  sluice-boxes 
as  soon  as  you're  rested,"  said  David.  "We've  not 
been  idle  here  since  you  went  away,  I  can  tell  you." 

Accordingly,  after  dinner  Holy,  armored  at  last  with 
head-net  and  gloves,  went  out  with  David  and  Uncle 
Will  to  inspect  the  mining  operations  at  the  foot  of  the 
bank  beside  the  creek. 

We  have  already  described  panning,  the  crudest  man 
ner  of  separating  gold  from  gravel.  The  appliances 


WASHING  OUT  THE   GOLD  249 

which  Uncle  Will  and  his  helpers  had  now  constructed 
were  capable  of  doing  much  more  work  than  the  pan  in 
a  given  time,  yet  required  the  expenditure  of  compara 
tively  little  labor.  Uncle  Will  first  called  Holy's  atten 
tion  to  the  rocker,  which  at  that  moment  was  standing 
idle  at  the  side  of  the  stream. 

"The  rocker,  or  cradle,"  he  explained,  "consists  of 
a  deep  box  set  upon  rounded  rockers  so  that  it  can  be 
swayed  from  side  to  side.  Within  the  box  are  several 
inclined  planes  at  different  heights,  covered  with  canvas 
and  so  arranged  that  water  and  gravel  flowing  down 
the  upper  one  will  pass  from  its  lower  edge  through 
an  aperture  to  the  top  of  the  one  below,  and  from 
that  to  the  next,  until  finally  the  stream  issues  near 
the  bottom  of  the  machine.  Across  these  planes  at 
intervals  are  nailed  small  strips  of  wood  called  riffles. 
A  sieve  is  fitted  to  the  top  of  the  box,  its  bottom  be 
ing  made  of  a  sheet  of  tin  punched  with  numerous 
holes  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  Now  let  us  see  it 
work." 

So  saying,  he  placed  the  rocker  under  the  end  of  a 
wooden  trough  set  in  the  bank  at  a  height  of  three  feet. 
A  ditch  had  been  hollowed  along  the  bank  to  this  trough 
from  a  point  higher  up  the  stream,  and  David  now  low 
ered  a  similar  trough  into  the  water  at  the  upper  end. 
This  allowed  a  stream  to  come  into  the  ditch  from  the 
creek.  As  soon  as  the  water  began  to  pour  into  the 


250     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TKAIL 

sieve  of  the  rocker,  Coffee  Jack,  whom  Uncle  Will  had 
summoned,  threw  into  it  a  shovelful  of  gravel  from  the 
bottom  of  the  bank. 

"Now  you  see,"  said  Uncle  Will,  as  he  gently  rocked 
the  machine  from  side  to  side,  "the  water  carries  the 
sand  and  smaller  pebbles,  including  the  particles  of 
gold,  down  through  those  holes  and  over  the  riffles  on 
the  inclined  planes.  The  gold  is  so  heavy  that  it 
lodges  against  the  riffles,  but  the  water,  swashing  from 
side  to  side  as  it  flows  down,  carries  most  of  the  sand 
and  gravel  over  the  riffles  and  out  at  the  bottom.  The 
operation  is  almost  instantaneous  in  the  rocker,  and 
gravel  can  be  shovelled  in  quite  rapidly,  whereas  it 
would  take  perhaps  ten  minutes  to  wash  out  a  very 
little  in  a  pan.  When  the  sieve  becomes  choked,  it  is 
lifted  up  and  the  stones  thrown  out." 

Coffee  Jack  shovelled  mechanically,  as  if  all  this  fuss 
about  the  yellow  metal  were  quite  beyond  his  appreciation. 
In  a  few  minutes  Uncle  Will  released  him  and  sent  him 
back  to  help  Lucky  at  the  sluice. 

"Now  we'll  take  a  look  at  the  results,"  said  Uncle 
Will,  as  he  removed  the  sieve,  picked  out  the  riffles, 
which  were  loosely  nailed,  and  carefully  took  up  the 
canvas  which  covered  the  inclined  planes.  All  the 
sand  and  gravel  which  remained  upon  the  canvas  he 
rinsed  off  into  a  pan  and  proceeded  to  wash  it  out  at 
the  stream  after  the  usual  method  of  panning.  Roly 


WASHING  OUT  THE  GOLD  251 

was  delighted  to  see  two  little  yellow  nuggets  appear, 
besides  many  small  flakes  and  grains. 

"  There,"  said  Uncle  Will,  as  he  finished,  "  you  see  we 
have  here  the  yield  of  several  panfuls,  and  it  has  taken 
but  a  few  minutes  to  secure  it.  The  rocker  is  a  handy 
machine  to  carry  from  place  to  place  wherever,  by  pan 
ning,  we  find  the  gold  most  abundant." 

"  But  what  would  you  do  without  the  ditch  ?  " 

"  We  should  pour  in  water  from  a  pail.  Now  let  us 
examine  the  sluice-boxes." 

Uncle  Will  led  the  way  down  the  stream  to  the  point 
where  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  were  at  work.  A  second 
ditch,  similar  to  the  first,  had  been  prepared  for  the 
sluicing;  and  the  boxes,  three  in  number,  were  set  in 
the  lower  end  of  it,  each  consisting  of  a  bottom  board 
about  twelve  feet  long  and  a  foot  wide,  and  two  side 
boards  of  the  same  dimensions.  The  lower  end  of  the 
first  or  upper  box  was  reduced  in  width  sufficiently  to 
allow  it  to  fit  into  the  upper  end  of  the  second  box, 
the  latter  fitting  in  like  manner  into  the  third,  which 
extended  slightly  over  the  creek.  All  the  boxes  were 
inclined  enough  so  that  the  water  from  the  ditch  would 
flow  through  them  quite  rapidly.  Instead  of  transverse 
riffles,  two  sets  of  poles  were  laid  lengthwise  in  the 
bottom  of  each  box,  each  set  having  a  length  of  about 
five  and  a  half  feet  and  consisting  of  three  poles  held 
an  inch  apart  by  pieces  of  wood  nailed  across  their  ends. 


252     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

Into  the  upper  end  of  the  upper  box  Lucky  was  shovelling 
gravel,  which  was  immediately  swept  through  the  three 
boxes  by  the  strong  current  of  water.  Coffee  Jack, 
shovel  in  hand,  kept  the  larger  stones  moving  when  they 
threatened  to  choke  up  the  boxes.  At  the  lower  end  a 
stream  of  muddy  water  and  gravel  was  constantly  dis 
charged  into  the  creek,  the  impetuous  current  of  which 
bore  it  instantly  away. 

"  Sluicing,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "  is  another  step  forward 
in  placer  —  or  gravel  —  mining,  since  the  sluice  will 
handle  more  material  than  even  the  rocker.  It  is  the 
favorite  method  on  a  claim  of  this  character." 

"And  how  is  the  gold  caught  here  ?"  asked  Roly. 

"  It  falls  down  between  the  poles,  and  is  held  there  by 
its  own  weight  and  the  cross-pieces." 

"You  must  have  had  to  do  a  lot  of  whip-sawing  to 
make  so  many  boards,"  observed  the  boy. 

"Indeed  we  did,"  replied  his  uncle.  "That  was  the 
hardest  part  of  the  work.  We  built  a  saw-pit  —  that 
raised  log  platform  over  yonder  —  and  there  we  did 
the  sawing,  Lucky  standing  on  top  of  the  log  and 
holding  the  saw  from  above,  while  I  was  under  the 
platform  to  guide  it  on  the  down  stroke.  I  rather 
had  the  worst  of  it,  for  the  sawdust  came  into  my 
eyes.  When  your  father  returned  from  Dalton's,  he 
took  a  turn  at  it,  which  gave  me  time  to  make  the 
rocker." 


WASHING  OUT   THE   GOLD  253 

"  How  often  do  you  take  the  gold  out  of  the  sluice- 
boxes  ? "  asked  Roly. 

"  We  may  as  well  clear  the  boxes  now, "  answered 
his  uncle.  "  It 's  three  days  since  we  began  operations." 

Accordingly,  the  two  Indians  were  sent  off  to  cut  fire 
wood,  and  Uncle  Will  and  Mr.  Bradford,  having  de 
spatched  David  to  the  head  of  the  ditch  to  shut  off  the 
water,  shovelled  out  of  the  boxes  the  stones  and  gravel 
which  had  lodged  above  the  poles.  Then,  removing  the 
poles,  they  scraped  and  washed  into  a  pan  at  the  lower 
end  all  which  remained.  There  was  a  heaping  panful. 

Uncle  Will  washed  it  out  at  a  quiet  eddy  of  the  creek, 
while  the  others  gathered  around  with  suppressed  excite 
ment,  for  estimates  of  the  value  of  this  claim  could  be 
based  upon  the  results.  Little  by  little  the  gravel  was 
reduced  until  the  black  sand  and  yellow  particles  alone 
remained.  A  portion  of  the  sand  Uncle  Will  was  able  to 
wash  away  by  careful  manipulating,  but  when  he  could 
safely  continue  the  operation  no  longer,  he  brought  a 
magnet  into  use,  which  quickly  gathered  up  all  the 
remaining  specks  of  iron.  A  goodly  mass  of  yellow  metal 
shone  in  the  bottom  of  the  pan,  which,  when  weighed, 
was  found  to  be  worth  about  sixty  dollars.  Among  the 
little  gold  nuggets  were  discovered  two  larger  ones  of 
pure  native  copper.  On  the  surface  they  were  of  a 
greenish  hue,  but  when  whittled  with  a  knife  their  true 
character  appeared. 


254     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

"That  isn't  exactly  Klondike  richness,"  said  Uncle 
Will,  as  he  held  up  to  view  the  pan  and  its  contents, 
"  but  I  doubt  if  we  've  found  the  richest  part  of  this  claim. 
We  've  been  working  in  what  is  called  bench  gravel  on 
the  rim-rock.  I  wish  we  could  get  down  to  the  low 
bed-rock  near  the  present  channel  of  the  stream.  We 
might  find  a  first-rate  pay-streak  there." 

" Can't  we  do  it?"  asked  Roly. 

"  I  fear  not.  We  've  tried  it,  and  the  Thirty-six  have 
tried  it;  but  the  minute  you  go  below  the  level  of  the 
stream,  the  water  comes  through  the  loose  gravel  faster 
than  you  can  throw  it  out.  For  this  reason  the  Thirty- 
six  are  working  almost  entirely  in  the  gravel  along  the 
hillsides  in  former  channels  of  the  river.  They  've  begun 
two  tunnels  through  the  gravel  on  the  rim-rock  about 
fifty  feet  above  the  present  stream." 

"Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Bradford,  cheerfully,  "even  if 
we  can't  make  more  than  twenty  dollars  a  day,  we  can 
pay  a  good  part  of  the  expenses  of  our  trip  before  the  end 
of  the  season." 

"That's  true,"  said  his  brother.  "And,  besides, 
we  've  only  to  make  another  set  of  sluice-boxes  to  double 
our  income.  Lucky  and  Coffee  Jack  can  work  this  one 
profitably,  and  you  and  I  can  take  care  of  another,  while 
the  boys  can  work  with  the  rocker  almost  anywhere. 
I  have  n't  a  doubt  that  we  shall  do  far  better  than  thou 
sands  who  are  now  crowding  over  the  White  and  Chil- 


WASHING  OUT  THE  GOLD  255 

koot  passes.  Why,  I  feel  amply  repaid  for  all  my  labors 
by  just  looking  at  you,  Charles.  I  never  saw  you  in  better 
health." 

Mr.  Bradford  laughed  and  rubbed  his  arm  doubtfully. 
"  Maybe  I  look  well,"  said  he,  "  but  what  a  place  this  is 
for  rheumatism!  Evenings  and  mornings  when  the  air 
is  chill  I  can  hardly  move." 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "I  can  sympathize  with  you 
there.  I  feel  it  more  or  less  myself,  and  I  understand 
that  two  or  three  of  the  big  party  are  fairly  laid  up  with 
it.  But  I  don't  think  we  shall  carry  it  home." 


256     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

DAVID  MAKES  A  BOAT-JOURNEY 

LATE  in  June,  when  the  leaves  were  full-grown 
and  the  grass  and  flowers  luxuriant,  there  came 
a  storm  of  rain  which  turned  into  a  damp  snow. 
About  two    inches    fell,   and  remained    on    the   ground 
several  hours.     The  hardy  vegetation  seemed  to  suffer  no 
injury,  and  indeed  the  storm  proved  quite  a  godsend,  for 
it  discouraged  the  mosquitoes,  and  they  were  unable  to 
rally   again   in   such   numbers   and  with  such    vigor  as 
before. 

By  the  middle  of  July  the  Bradfords  had  two  sluices 
in  operation,  and  were  taking  out  from  thirty  to  fifty 
dollars  a  day.  The  Thirty-six  were  working  with  vary 
ing  success  on  the  hillsides.  Their  first  supply  train  of 
horses  had  arrived  with  provisions  and  the  mail,  including 
a  few  Seattle  newspapers  only  three  weeks  old. 

About  this  time  the  leader  of  the  Thirty-six  invited 
David  to  join  a  small  party  which  he  was  going  to  take 
north  on  an  exploring  trip.  He  needed  a  young  fellow, 
he  said,  to  take  charge  of  a  cabin  at  Champlain's  Landing, 
twenty-five  miles  north  of  Pennock's  Post,  for  a  week  or 
two.  until  one  of  Moran's  men  could  be  spared. 


DAVID   MAKES   A  BOAT-JOURNEY  257 

David  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go,  since  he  was  not 
imperatively  needed  at  Alder  Creek,  and  his  father  con 
sented,  believing  that  the  experience  would  be  valuable 
as  a  training  in  self-reliance.  He  warned  his  son,  how 
ever,  that  he  might  be  very  homesick  and  lonely.  As 
David  had  never  been  homesick  in  his  life,  that  malady 
had  no  terrors  for  him,  and  he  declared-  that  he  was  quite 
willing  to  take  the  risk. 

Thus  it  happened  that  he  found  himself  one  afternoon 
starting  down  the  gorge  from  Moran's  Camp  in  com 
pany  with  the  captain,  a  civil  engineer  named  Dunn, 
who  had  recently  arrived,  and  Greenwood,  who  had 
been  a  cook  in  the  army.  Three  others  had  already  set 
out  with  horses  to  make  the  journey  overland,  while  the 
captain's  party  was  to  proceed  by  boat  down  Lake  Dasar- 
dee-ash  and  its  outlet  river  to  the  Landing.  There  the 
parties  would  unite  and  continue,  the  journey  by  land, 
leaving  David  at  the  cabin. 

At  the  shore  of  the  lake  Paul  Champlain  was  en 
camped.  He  was  that  member  of  the  Thirty-six  who 
had  selected  on  the  north  branch  of  the  Alsek  the  land 
ing  place  called  by  his  name,  and  had  built  the  store 
house  there,  while  Pennock's  party  and  the  Bradfords, 
on  the  same  stream,  were  building  Pennock's  Post.  He 
was  a  Michigan  man  of  French  descent,  possessing  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  woodcraft  and  a  magnificent 
physique.  By  the  captain's  directions  he  had  hired 

17 


258     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

and  brought  up  the  boat  which  had  been  built  near  this 
point  earlier  in  the  season. 

Hardly  had  the  tents  been  pitched  on  a  gravelly  open 
space  overlooking  the  water,  when  a  cold  and  drenching 
rainstorm  came  on.  A  fire  was  kindled  with  difficulty, 
around  which  the  shivering  party  gathered  to  cook  and 
eat  their  evening  meal.  Rubber  blankets  and  oiled 
canvas  were  pressed  into  service  to  protect  them  from 
the  storm,  but  there  was  no  keeping  entirely  dry  in 
such  a  downpour.  Around  the  small  tent  which  had 
been  assigned  to  David,  the  ground  was  so  level  that 
the  water  was  presently  standing  an  inch  deep,  and 
only  by  hastily  digging  a  ditch  was  he  able  to  prevent 
it  from  being  flooded.  As  it  was,  he  found  a  compara 
tively  dry  spot  along  the  centre  of  his  blanket-bed  when 
he  crawled  in  out  of  the  rain,  and  having  rolled  up 
his  damp  coat  for  a  pillow,  he  went  to  sleep  in  a  twink 
ling  in  spite  of  all  discomforts. 

By  morning  the  sky  cleared,  tents  were  struck,  pro 
visions  and  goods  of  all  kinds  were  put  aboard  the 
little  craft,  and  soon  they  were  sailing  merrily  north 
ward  before  the  wind,  the  captain  at  the  helm, 
Champlain  holding  the  sheet  in  his  hand  that  he  might 
let  it  go  instantly  in  case  of  a  squall,  Mr.  Dunn 
on  the  centre  seat,  and  Greenwood  and  David  sitting 
forward  near  the  slender  mast,  Occasionally  they  were 
obliged  to  bail,  but  considering  the  fact  that  there  was 


DAVID   MAKES  A  BOAT-JOURNEY  259 

not  a  drop  of  paint  on  the  boat,  she  was  remarkably 
seaworthy. 

It  was  a  glorious  morning.  A  fresh,  bracing  wind 
blew  from  the  south.  The  cloud-flecked  mountains 
loomed  sharp  and  blue  around  the  lake,  and  the  great 
range  on  the  western  shore  was  especially  grand  and 
imposing.  David  discovered  beneath  one  of  its  glaciers, 
several  thousand  feet  above  the  lake,  what  appeared  to 
be  a  yawning  cave  as  big  as  a  house,  and  the  captain's 
glass  brought  it  out  more  distinctly.  Here  was  a  natu 
ral  wonder  fairly  begging  to  be  visited,  and  right  well 
would  David  have  liked  to  explore  its  mysteries;  but 
time  was  precious  to  the  voyagers,  and  they  held  their 
course  steadily  to  the  north,  crossing  the  mouth  of  a 
great  bay  which  extended  several  miles  eastward. 
There  was  a  similar  bay  to  the  west,  but  the  lake  nar 
rowed  again  as  they  approached  the  outlet.  At  noon  they 
landed  for  dinner  in  a  little  cove,  which  they  named 
Shelter  Bay,  and  there,  the  wind  deserting  them,  they  had 
recourse  to  the  oars  and  rowed  the  short  distance  to  the 
river,  after  which  the  current  assisted  them.  The  water 
was  here  so  clear  that  they  could  see  the  fish  as  they 
darted  away  from  the  shadow  of  the  oars.  Several  yellow- 
legged  plover  were  shot  along  the  banks,  but  no  attempt 
was  made  to  bag  ducks,  as  it  was  their  breeding  season. 

Early  in  the  evening  they  reached  the  sandy  bluff 
near  Pennock's  cabin  and  moored  the  boat  to  a  tree. 


260     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

The  cabin  was  now  deserted  by  human  beings,  but  when 
David  opened  the  door  a  fat  ground-squirrel  scurried 
across  the  floor  and  ran  out  through  a  hole  under  the 
side  log.  It  seemed  too  bad  that  such  a  stanch  dwell 
ing  should  be  given  over  to  neglect,  but  such  is  often 
the  case  in  a  new  country.  The  travellers  did  not  sleep 
in  it,  for  the  mosquitoes  were  in  possession.  They 
pitched  their  insect-proof  tents  by  the  side  of  the  river 
and  passed  the  night  in  comfort. 

But  before  they  turned  in,  Champlain  and  David 
took  trout  flies  and  lines  and  sauntered  down  the  stream 
to  try  to  discover  what  kind  of  fish  they  had  seen. 
They  cut  rude  willow  poles  and  fished  carefully  but  in 
vain  until  they  came  to  the  mouth  of  Frying-Pan 
Creek.  Here  the  current  of  the  brook  cleared  for  a 
space  the  now  muddy  river  water,  and  Champlain  had 
a  rise  almost  immediately.  A  few  seconds  later  he 
landed  a  delicately  spotted,  gamy  fish  about  eight  inches 
long,  which  he  recognized  as  a  grayling.  The  sport 
became  exciting  at  once,  and  David  soon  had  half  a 
dozen  catches  to  his  credit.  When  the  anglers  could 
no  longer  induce  a  rise,  they  marched  back  to  camp  in 
triumph  with  a  handsome  string. 

The  voyage  was  continued  next  day.  Champlain 
entertained  his  companions  with  an  account  of  his  suc 
cessful  moose-hunt  a  few  weeks  previous,  which  had 
relieved  the  hunger  of  the  northernmost  party  of  the 


DAVID   MAKES  A  BOAT-JOURNEY  261 

Thirty-six.  Then  he  told  of  the  difficulties  he  and 
others  had  overcome  in  rafting  the  goods  from  their 
great  cache  and  Pennock's  Post  down  to  the  Landing. 
He  had  shot  an  otter  on  one  of  his  journeys  along  the 
stream,  but  said  he  had  seen  hardly  a  trace  of  beavers. 

The  river  now  became  extremely  tortuous.  Greenwood 
wondered  how  it  could  make  so  many  loops  without  tying 
itself  into  a  knot,  and  expressed  a  decided  preference 
for  walking  as  a  means  of  getting  to  the  Landing.  As 
he  was  taking  his  turn  at  rowing  at  that  moment,  it  was 
easy  to  account  for  his  sudden  feeling  in  the  matter. 

By  skilful  use  of  helm  and  paddle  Champlain  guided 
the  boat  through  a  number  of  rocky  stretches  in  safety, 
but  he  was  not  to  be  invariably  so  successful.  David, 
who  had  been  intently  gazing  forward,  suddenly 
shouted  a  warning.  Five  or  six  boulders  lay  in  the 
stream  so  nearly  submerged  that  they  could  hardly  be 
discerned  from  a  distance,  while  others  just  below  the 
surface  betrayed  their  position  only  by  eddies.  Cham- 
plain  put  all  his  strength  into  the  paddle,  but  in  that 
current  the  heavy  boat  could  be  swerved  but  little.  A 
dangerous  eddy  was  barely  avoided,  but  beyond  and 
directly  in  their  path  a  ragged  rock  appeared.  How  the 
paddle  flashed !  And  how  the  rowers  struggled !  But 
in  a  moment  it  was  evident  that  the  boat  must  strike. 

Crunch!  went  her  side  against  the  rock.  She  ca 
reened  as  she  stopped,  and  the  current  piled  up  against 


262     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

her,  while  her  passengers  fully  expected  shipwreck  and 
instinctively  measured  the  distance  to  the  shore.  But 
the  force  of  the  stream,  instead  of  swamping  the  stout 
little  craft,  swept  her  past  the  obstruction,  and  all 
breathed  freely  once  more.  By  great  good  fortune  not 
the  least  damage  had  been  sustained. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  they  passed  between  Father 
and  Son,  otherwise  known  as  Mount  Champlain  and 
Mount  Bratnober  respectively.  The  pass  was  about  a 
mile  wide,  with  perpendicular  cliffs  several  thousand 
feet  high  on  either  side.  In  this  wild  place  they  found 
the  forest  recently  burned,  and  in  one  spot  near  the 
base  of  Mount  Bratnober  smoke  was  still  rising.  It 
was  this  great  conflagration,  covering  thousands  of 
acres,  which  had  filled  the  atmosphere  with  smoke  a 
few  weeks  before  and  caused  the  sun  to  look  like  a 
blood-red  ball  as  it  sank  in  the  west.  Champlain  re 
lated  how,  in  company  with  a  Canadian  government 
surveyor,  he  had  climbed  the  mountain  which  had  re 
ceived  his  name.  He  was  sure  they  could  have  seen 
Mount  St.  Elias  in  the  west  had  not  clouds  obscured 
the  view.  They  noticed  a  flock  of  mountain  sheep, 
but  did  not  get  near  enough  for  a  shot. 

The  voyage  was  presently  enlivened  by  a  race  with 
a  brood  of  little  ducks  which  Mother  Mallard  had  taken 
out  for  an  airing,  —  or  "  watering,"  as  David  put  it. 
There  were  a  dozen  of  the  little  fellows  not  two  weeks 


DAVID   MAKES   A  BOAT-JOURNEY  263 

out  of  the  shell,  and  what  a  splashing  they  set  up  when 
they  saw  the  strange,  oared  craft  bearing  down  upon 
them !  The  mother  duck  quacked  anxiously  from  the 
rear  of  her  flotilla  and  urged  the  youngsters  forward  at 
the  top  of  their  speed,  which  proved  just  about  equal 
to  that  of  the  boat. 

The  little  ducks  could  not  fly,  and  the  river  was  so 
narrow  that  at  first  they  dared  not  swerve  toward 
either  shore,  but  flapped  and  paddled  and  splashed 
straight  down  the  river.  Not  until  they  became  ut 
terly  exhausted  did  they  seek  the  bank.  Then 
one  by  one,  as  a  convenient  log  or  hole  appeared, 
they  dropped  away  from  the  others  and  hid  themselves 
while  the  terrible  monster  went  by.  The  old  duck 
paid  not  the  slightest  attention  to  these  stragglers,  but 
continued  with  that  part  of  her  brood  which  was  still 
in  danger,  turning  her  head  from  side  to  side  and  talk 
ing  vigorously  in  duck  language  to  her  terrified  children. 

Finally  only  one  duckling  remained  in  the  middle  of 
the  river,  probably  at  once  the  strongest  and  most  fool 
ish  of  the  brood.  He  did  not  know  enough  to  follow 
the  example  of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  but  kept  splash 
ing  along  until  he  could  flee  no  longer.  Then  he  too 
sought  the  friendly  bank.  And  now,  having  seen  all 
her  brood  safely  disposed,  the  brave  mother-bird  made 
use  of  her  wings,  rising  in  a  graceful  sweep  and  turn 
ing  back  up-stream  to  gather  her  scattered  family. 


264     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

CHAMPLAIN'S  LANDING 

IT  was  well  into  the  evening,  though  before  sunset, 
when  Champlain  assured  his  fellow-voyagers  that 
the  Landing  was  near.  Soon  afterward,  they  saw 
two  men  appear  on  the  brow  of  a  sandy  bluff  ahead. 
These  proved  to  be  Hovey  and  Herrick,  who  were  in 
charge  of  the  camp.  They  had  heard  voices  and  the 
plash  of  oars,  and  had  hurried  out  to  see  who  was 
approaching,  waving  their  hats  and  shouting  a  welcome 
as  soon  as  they  recognized  their  friends.  The  boat  was 
brought  close  to  the  narrow  beach,  and  the  captain,  Dunn, 
and  Greenwood  disembarked,  leaving  Champlain  and 
David  to  row  around  to  the  other  side  of  the  bluff, 
where  the  craft  could  be  more  securely  moored. 

David  was  now  accustomed  to  the  interminable  wind 
ings  of  the  river,  and  took  it  quite  as  a  matter  of  course 
that  the  stream,  after  flowing  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the 
left  or  southwest  from  the  bluff,  turned  capriciously  back 
to  within  fifty  yards  of  the  spot  where  the  three  had 
landed.  The  bluff  itself  was  thus  a  narrow,  high  neck 
of  land  connecting  a  low,  wooded  point  with  what  we 
may  call  the  mainland  east  of  the  river. 


CHAMPLAIN'S   LANDING  265 

With  oars  and  paddle,  the  crew  of  two  soon  rounded 
the  point,  and  approached  the  bluff  once  more.  Here  the 
river  turned  abruptly  northwest,  and  in  the  bay  formed 
by  its  curve  lay  a  flotilla  of  log  rafts.  To  one  of  these 
the  boat  was  made  fast,  and  the  occupants  sprang  ashore 
and  made  their  way  up  the  slope. 

David  looked  with  interest  at  the  place  which  for  a 
fortnight  was  to  be  his  home.  The  top  of  the  bluff  was 
about  thirty  feet  wide,  and  covered  with  short  grass.  It 
was  as  level  as  a  floor,  except  along  its  southeastern  edge, 
where  a  ridge  of  sand  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  fringed 
with  spruces,  offered  a  natural  protection  for  a  cook- 
tent  and  a  sleeping-tent.  Champlain,  who  had  dis 
covered  this  spot,  took  pride  in  pointing  out  to  David 
its  advantages. 

"  It 's  the  .finest  place  in  this  valley  for  a  camp  or  a  fort," 
he  declared,  with  a  Frenchman's  enthusiasm.  "Every 
time  I  look  at  it,  I  almost  wish  there  was  an  Indian  war, 
and  I  had  a  good  garrison  here.  You  see,  it 's  defended 
on  three  sides  by  the  river,  which  is  too  deep  for  ford 
ing,  and  can  only  be  crossed  with  canoes  or  logs,  or  by 
swimming.  From  the -top  of  the  bluff  we  have  a  clear 
view  for  an  eighth  of  a  mile  both  up  and  down  the 
stream.  If  the  enemy  came  down  the  river,  the  ridge 
of  sand  behind  the  tents  is  a  natural  breastwork  for  rifle 
men;  while  if  they  approached  from  the  other  direction, 
the  defenders  would  simply  lie  down  a  little  back  from 


266     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

the  edge  of  the  bluff  on  that  side,  and  give  them  a  good 
peppering." 

"And  what  if  they  came  from  the  land  side?"  asked 
David,  who  began  to  wonder  if  an  attack  were  within 
the  bounds  of  possibility. 

"We  should  put  a  stockade  of  logs  across  the  neck 
of  land  on  that  side, "  answered  Champlain.  "  Already  I 
have  built  a  strong  log  house.  Come  and  see  it." 

He  led  the  way  landward  from  the  narrow  part  of  the 
bluff  to  a  point  about  a  hundred  yards  up-stream,  where 
David  now  beheld  the  neat  little  cabin  in  which  the 
supplies  were  stored.  It  had  a  door  of  boards,  evidently 
constructed  from  the  material  of  a  coffee-box,  but  there 
was  no  window,  either  because  no  more  boards  were  to 
be  had,  or  because  the  cabin  was  less  vulnerable  with  but 
a  single  opening  in  its  heavy  walls.  The  door  was  fitted 
with  good  hinges  and  a  padlock.  Forest  enclosed  the 
cabin,  except  on  the  side  from  which  tnoy  had  come,  and 
toward  the  river;  and  off  among  the  trees  wound  a  path 
which  joined  the  main  trail  about  fifty  rods  away. 

"You  won't  have  to  fight  Indians,  my  lad,"  said  Cham- 
plain,  who  was  aware  that  his  imaginative  talk  might 
cause  David  some  uneasiness;  "and  as  for  bears,  you 
don't  seem  to  mind  them  much,  judging  from  what  I  've 
heard." 

"I  think  I  can  take  care  of  the  bears,"  said  David. 

Champlain  eyed  the  lad  with   evident  approval.      "I 


CHAMPLAIN'S   LANDING  267 

like  your  pluck,"  said  he;  "but  let  an  old  hunter  advise 
you  to  leave  such  beasts  alone,  when  you  're  not  in  reach 
of  help.  You  see,  we  should  never  know  where  to  look 
for  you  if  you  should  meet  with  an  accident  off  in  these 
woods.  Better  stick  pretty  close  to  the  cabin." 

On  their  way  back  to  the  cook-tent  Champlain  pointed 
out  a  pile  of  saddles  and  blankets  near  the  embers  of  a 
fire. 

"Must  be  a  pack  train  somewhere  about,"  he  observed. 
"  I  wonder  where  the  men  and  horses  are.  It 's  too  early 
for  ours  to  be  here." 

The  explanation  was  quickly  forthcoming.  A  large 
herd  of  cattle,  convoyed  by  five  or  six  horsemen,  had 
arrived  on  the  previous  day  on  their  way  to  Dawson,  and 
had  been  halted  for  a  day's  rest  at  the  Landing.  The 
men  were  now  rounding  up  their  charges  into  an  open 
meadow  half  a  mile  distant,  preparatory  to  an  early  start 
in  the  morning. 

"  And  you  '11  be  very  glad  they  came  when  you  know 
what  you're  to  have  for  supper,"  added  Hovey,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  as  he  bustled  about  the  sheet-iron 
stove  in  the  cook-tent. 

"  Oh,  we  live  high  at  this  hotel ! "  Herrick  chimed  in. 
"  How  would  fried  liver  strike  you,  —  and  hot  biscuits 
and  butter,  —  and  tea  with  cream  and  sugar,  —  and  a 
custard  by  way  of  dessert?" 

"What's  this  you're  talking  about?"   cried  the  cap- 


268     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

tain,  who  had  overheard  the  last  few  words.  "Cream 
and  custards  ?  I  '11  believe  when  I  see  and  taste !  " 

"  All  right,  my  sceptical  friend !  Come  in.  Supper  's 
ready.  Muck-muck ! " 

No  second  call  was  needed,  for  the  travellers  were 
ravenous.  They  entered  the  cook-tent  at  once,  and  took 
their  places  on  empty  boxes  around  a  small  improvised 
table. 

"Now  then,"  said  Hovey,  who,  with  Herrick,  had  fin 
ished  supper  some  three  hours  before,  and  now  presided 
gracefully  over  the  cook-stove  in  the  interest  of  the 
guests,  "pass  the  plates." 

These  much  battered  articles  of  aluminum  were  promptly 
presented,  and  as  promptly  filled  with  the  savory  contents 
of  the  frying-pan,  which  proved  to  be  real  liver,  after  all. 
Herrick  meanwhile  told  how  they  had  secured  it. 

It  appeared  by  his  narrative  that  one  of  the  steers  had 
driven  a  sharp  stick  into  its  foot  in  such  a  way  as  to  lame 
it  badly.  On  noticing  this,  he  had  strongly  represented 
to  the  cattlemen  that  it  would  be  cruel  to  drive  the  animal 
farther,  and  that  they  ought  to  kill  it  then  and  there. 
Aided  by  several  expressive  winks,  the  cattlemen  had 
seen  the  point  of  his  remarks,  and  having  found  the  two 
campers  pleasant,  sociable  fellows,  they  killed  the  steer, 
and  made  them  a  present  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
carcass.  The  cream  and  custard  were  accounted  for  by 
the  presence  of  a  milch  cow  in  the  herd. 


CHAMPLAIN'S   LANDING  269 

"  To-morrow,"  said  Herrick,  as  he  finished  his  tale,  "we 
shall  have  roast  beef  with  brown  gravy;  and  if  they  can 
catch  the  cow,  we  may  get  a  drink  of  milk  all  around." 

"What  would  the  boys  at  Shorty  Creek  say,  if  they 
heard  that?"  asked  Greenwood,  smacking  his  lips. 

"They'd  mutiny,"  replied  Dunn.  "But  is  this  the 
only  cattle  train  that  has  come  along?" 

"No,"  answered  Hovey.  "This  is  the  third  big  one 
within  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  they  all  belong  to  one  man. 
There  have  been  some  smaller  herds,  too.  Over  a  thou 
sand  head  must  have  gone  over  this  trail  this  season,  and 
they  're  in  prime  condition.  They  ought  to  sell  high  in 
Dawson,  for  the  Yukon  steamers  can't  carry  cattle  to  any 
great  extent,  and  there  must  be  thousands  of  people  there 
by  this  time." 

Next  morning,  previous  to  their  departure,  the  cattle 
men  made  an  attempt  to  milk  their  solitary  cow.  Obvi 
ously  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  catch  the  animal,  but 
for  some  reason  she  was  particularly  contrary,  and  refused 
to  be  either  coaxed  or  coerced.  At  last  one  of  the  men 
mounted  his  horse,  and  set  out  with  his  lariat  to  lasso  the 
refractory  beast  in  true  cow-boy  style.  The  poor  cow, 
frightened  out  of  her  wits  by  the  shouts  and  the  turmoil, 
rushed  frantically  through  thickets  and  over  sand-banks, 
closely  followed  by  the  horseman,  who,  after  several 
throws,  succeeded  in  roping  her  and  checking  her  wild 
career. 


270     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

It  now  looked  as  if  the  drink  of  milk  might  mate 
rialize,  but  alas  for  human  expectations!  The  cow  had 
been  wrought  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement  by  the 
events  of  the  morning  that  she  could  not  be  made  to 
stand  still,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  the 
milking  could  be  commenced.  The  man  who  essayed 
this  task  had  all  he  could  attend  to  with  her  kicking 
and  plunging,  and  finally,  losing  all  patience,  he  threw 
pail,  milk,  and  all  at  her  head,  accompanied  by  some 
thing  very  like  an  oath.  So  faded  the  dream  of  the 
drink  of  milk. 

Hovey  and  Herrick,  who  had  been  informed  that  they 
were  to  take  the  boat  and  a  moderate  cargo  and  start  for 
Moran's  Camp,  where  they  were  to  sign  certain  papers 
connected  with  their  claims,  now  made  ready  to  depart. 
They  appeared  to  relish  the  idea  of  joining  their  com 
rades  on  the  Kah  Sha  River,  but  David  thought,  as  he 
watched  them  pull  away  against  the  current,  that  long 
before  they  could  hoist  their  sail  on  Lake  Dasar-dee-ash, 
they  would  wish  themselves  back  at  the  Landing.  The 
cattle  train  started  toward  Dawson  about  the  same  time, 
and  Champlain's  Landing  was  left  to  the  captain's 
party. 

The  following  morning  he,  too,  made  ready  to  leave. 
The  horses,  which  had  now  arrived,  were  loaded  with 
the  necessary  provisions  from  the  cache  in  the  cabin, 
and  David  was  given  final  directions  about  the  camp. 


CHAMPLAIN'S   LANDING  271 

"Shep,"  an  Indian  dog  which  had  accompanied  the 
horses,  was  left  with  him  as  his  sole  companion,  and 
then  the  captain,  Champlain,  Dunn,  Greenwood,  and 
the  three  packers  bade  him  good-by  and  disappeared  in 
the  woods. 


272     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

ALONE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS 

DAVID  had  not  realized  what  it  meant  to  be 
alone  in  the  wilderness.  When  he  had  agreed, 
back  in  the  camp  on  Alder  Creek,  to  take 
charge  of  a  cabin  for  a  fortnight,  he  had  looked  upon  it 
as  rather  a  novel  and  pleasant  undertaking,  in  spite  of 
his  father's  warning.  Now,  as  he  watched  his  friends 
ride  away,  and  whistled  back  the  dog,  who  showed  a 
desire  to  follow  them,  it  must  be  confessed  that  he  felt 
quite  differently  about  it.  But  he  was  a  stout-hearted 
lad,  and  sensibly  decided  that  the  best  way  to  forget  his 
loneliness  was  to  keep  busy. 

Fortunately  work  lay  ready  to  his  hand.  His  prede 
cessors  had  carried  away  their  sleeping-tent,  but  they 
had  shown  him  in  the  cabin  some  large  pieces  of  canvas 
which,  with  a  little  ingenuity,  could  be  transformed 
into  quite  a  comfortable  shelter.  They  had  built  a 
raised  bedstead  of  poles  inside  their  tent,  and  this  struc 
ture  remained  in  place.  Above  it  was  a  sort  of  ridge 
pole,  which  had  supported  the  tent.  With  some 
difficulty  David  flung  an  end  of  the  largest  piece  of 
canvas  over  this  pole,  and  found,  on  drawing  it  into 


ALONE  IN  THE   WILDERNESS  273 

position,  that  it  would  quite  reach  the  ground  on  both 
sides  and  completely  cover  the  bedstead.  Having  made 
the  corners  fast  to  small  spruces,  he  set  the  other  pieces 
of  canvas  in  place  across  the  rear  of  the  tent;  and 
though  they  could  not  be  made  to  fill  the  whole  space, 
they  contributed  materially  to  the  shelter.  Besides,  that 
end  was  protected  by  the  ridge  of  sand  with  its  fringe 
of  trees.  The  front  of  the  tent  was  entirely  open  and 
faced  northwest  upon  the  beautiful  stretch  of  the  river 
where  it  flowed  away  from  the  bluff.  Beyond,  and 
perhaps  ten  miles  distant,  was  a  long  range  of  moun 
tains  bounding  the  valley  on  the  north,  which  Cham- 
plain  had  said  was  the  Yukon  Divide.  The  waters  on 
its  farther  slope  flowed  into  a  tributary  of  the  Yukon, 
while  those  on  the  nearer  side  reached  the  Pacific  much 
more  directly. 

When  the  tent  had  been  made  as  snug  as  possible, 
David  brought  heavy  blankets  from  the  cabin  and  spread 
them  upon  the  poles  of  the  bedstead.  So  interested  did 
he  become  in  arranging  his  quarters  that  he  quite  forgot 
that  he  must  get  his  own  supper;  and  when  hunger  at 
length  compelled  him  to  think  of  the  matter,  his  watch 
informed  him  that  it  was  after  six  o'clock.  By  good 
luck,  he  found,  on  examining  the  larder,  that  there  were 
odds  and  ends  of  one  kind  and  another  sufficient  for  a 
meal. 

After  supper  he  cut  dry  wood  for  the  little  stove  and 

18 


274     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

piled  it  in  the  cook-tent.  Hardly  was  this  done  when  a 
thunder-storm,  which  had  been  brewing  in  the  north, 
drove  him  into  the  new  tent.  The  sky  grew  dark,  the 
lightning  flashed  over  the  northern  mountains,  the  wind 
arose  and  howled  in  the  forest,  and  the  rain  beat  down 
on  the  frail  canvas  roof.  David  lay  on  his  rude  couch, 
with  Shep  curled  up  on  the  ground  at  his  feet,  and 
watched  the  storm,  and  thought,  with  a  longing  he  had 
never  known  before,  of  his  far-away  home  in  New  Eng 
land,  —  of  his  father  and  brother  and  uncle  in  their 
camp  on  Alder  Creek,  —  and  more  than  once,  it  is  cer 
tain,  of  the  fair-haired  little  girl  at  Seattle.  But  at 
last,  in  spite  of  his  loneliness,  having  carefully  arranged 
his  head-net  over  his  face  and  settled  down  among  the 
blankets,  he  dropped  off  into  oblivion,  and  only  awak 
ened  when  the  morning  sun  was  smiling  warmly  down 
on  the  valley. 

It  was  indeed  a  fine  morning.  A  few  gray  clouds 
curled  about  Mount  Bratnober  and  Mount  Champlain 
and  an  unnamed  peak  to  the  west.  Red  squirrels  were 
scampering  and  chattering  in  the  trees,  a  fat  ground- 
squirrel  was  sitting  up  demurely  on  the  point  of  the 
bluff  like  a  small  brown  statue,  birds  were  singing  in 
all  directions,  and  the  feeling  of  isolation  which  had 
oppressed  the  solitary  youth  in  the  evening  vanished  like 
magic  under  the  bright  influence  of  day. 

Having  fetched  a  pail  of  water  from  the  river,  David 


ALONE  IN  THE  WILDERNESS  275 

performed  his  toilet,  and  then  set  about  getting  break 
fast.  He  had  helped  his  uncle  more  or  less  and  could 
fry  bacon  to  a  turn;  but  he  was  rather  tired  of  bacon, 
and  cast  about  for  some  more  appetizing  dish.  Picking 
up  a  can  of  baking-powder,  he  read  the  recipes  printed 
thereon,  but  without  finding  just  what  he  wanted. 
Then  he  bethought  himself  of  a  rule  for  johnny-cakes 
which  Hovey  had  written  out  for  him.  Johnny-cakes 
would  be  an  excellent  breakfast  dish,  he  said  to  himself. 
With  the  aid  of  a  few  dry  twigs  a  fire  was  quickly  kin 
dled  in  the  little  stove,  and  a  kettle  of  water  set  on  to 
heat  for  coffee  and  for  dish-washing,  while  the  young 
cook  measured  out  the  flour,  corn-meal,  crystallized  egg, 
baking-powder,  and  salt  which  were  to  compose  the 
cakes.  When  he  had  stirred  sufficient  water  into  this 
mixture  to  moisten  it  thoroughly,  he  greased  the  frying- 
pan  with  a  bacon  rind,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  hot  he  ladled 
out  the  batter. 

How  deliciously  it  sizzled  in  the  pan!  He  could 
hardly  wait  for  the  cooking  to  be  done;  but  at  length 
there  were  nine  nicely  browned  johnny-cakes  begging  to 
be  eaten.  A  little  sugar  and  water  heated  on  the  stove 
served  for  syrup,  and  canned  butter  was  also  at  hand. 
David  found  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  disposing  of 
the  nine  cakes,  and  thought  them  by  far  the  best  he  had 
ever  eaten.  They  were  much  too  good  for  Shep,  who 
was  offered  some  canned  corned  beef  instead;  but  to 


276     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

David's  surprise,  the  dog  refused  to  eat  the  meat  and 
declined  all  invitations  to  join  his  master  at  breakfast. 
Indeed,  for  nearly  a  week  Shep  would  eat  nothing;  but 
as  he  seemed  in  good  condition,  David  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  he  had  found  the  carcass  of  the  steer  which 
the  cattlemen  had  killed,  and  was  living  by  preference 
on  that. 

But  if  the  dog  would  not  partake,  at  least  the  birds 
would.  They  fluttered  fearlessly  about  the  tent  — 
magpies,  butcher-birds,  and  others  —  and  carried  off  every 
stray  scrap;  while  two  tiny  song-sparrows,  most  fearless 
and  friendly  of  all,  actually  hopped  into  the  tent  and 
over  his  feet  and  upon  the  table  while  he  was  at  meals, 
and  picked  up  the  crumbs  as  fast  as  they  fell. 

With  a  little  practice  David  became  a  competent  cook. 
His  johnny-cakes  had  turned  out  so  well  that  he  made 
them  every  morning.  He  also  had  biscuits,  omelets, 
baked  beans,  rice,  dried  fruits  and  vegetables,  bacon, 
squirrels,  and  grayling  to  choose  from,  and  lived  very 
comfortably.  The  biscuits  were  as  successful  as  the 
johnny-cakes,  with  one  notable  exception,  —  that  was 
when  he  conceived  the  idea  of  adding  a  pinch  of  nutmeg 
spice.  All  might  have  gone  well  had  not  the  cover  come 
off  unexpectedly  and  allowed  half  the  contents  of  the 
can  to  go  into  the  batter.  When  he  had  removed  all 
the  spice  he  could  with  a  spoon,  there  still  remained  so 
much  that  the  biscuits  turned  out  a  dark  pink  color; 


ALONE   IN   THE  WILDERNESS  277 

and  as  for  eating  them,  it  required  a  pretty  strong 
stomach. 

The  grayling  could  sometimes  be  caught  quite  plenti 
fully  from  the  rafts  or  from  the  sandy  curve  on  the  other 
side  of  the  bluff.  As  for  the  squirrels,  he  could  not  find 
it  in  his  heart  to  kill  those  which  chattered  so  sociably 
around  his  dwelling;  so  when  he  needed  fresh  meat,  he 
strolled  down  the  trail  with  Shep  and  shot  squirrels  with 
which  he  was  in  no  wise  acquainted. 

One  evening  he  shot  an  animal  which  was  swimming 
in  the  river.  It  proved  to  be  a  musk-rat.  He  remem 
bered  reading  that  some  Indian  tribes  relish  the  flesh  of 
this  rodent,  and,  having  cooked  it  experimentally,  he 
found  the  meat  both  wholesome  and  palatable. 

He  early  set  himself  to  the  task  of  bringing  order  out 
of  chaos  in  the  cabin,  where  boxes  and  cans  of  provisions 
were  indiscriminately  mixed  with  clothing  bags  and 
snow-shoes.  Cutting  down  two  straight  young  trees,  he 
contrived  a  shelf  across  the  rear  of  the  building  upon 
which  a  portion  of  the  goods  could  be  disposed,  thus 
leaving  much  more  room  upon  the  floor.  After  the  first 
two  or  three  nights  he  slept  in  the  cabin,  because  the 
mosquitoes  were  less  troublesome  in  the  comparative 
darkness  of  the  building,  and  also  because  he  felt  more 
secure  there  against  the  larger  inhabitants  of  the  forest. 
Presently  he  found  himself  almost  reconciled  to  this 
mode  of  life.  He  was  his  own  master.  He  could  go 


278     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

or  come  with  absolute  freedom.  In  the  intervals  of  his 
work  he  could  hunt  or  fish,  read  or  dream,  or  study 
nature  in  the  animal  and  plant  life  about  him.  There 
was  a  sort  of  charm  in  it,  after  all.  But  as  often  as 
evening  came  around,  he  heartily  wished  he  might  have 
some  one  besides  the  dog  to  talk  to. 

Day  after  day  he  saw  no  human  face  and  heard  no 
voice  but  his  own.  If  a  regiment  had  passed  on  the 
main  trail  he  might  never  have  known  it,  had  they  gone 
quietly.  How  many  pack  trains  actually  went  by  in 
that  lonely  week  he  never  knew.  Once  he  heard  a 
rifle-shot  and  the  bark  of  a  dog,  and  running  down  his 
own  path  to  the  trail,  he  found  fresh  hoof-prints,  but 
the  travellers  were  out  of  sight.  He  happened  to  meet 
no  one  on  any  of  his  hunting  excursions,  nor  did  any 
Indian  visit  him.  For  seven  long  days  he  was  alone. 


KAIDED  BY  A  WOLF  279 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 

EAIDED  BY  A  WOLF 

• 

THE  third  evening  after  the  departure  of  the  cap 
tain's  party  David  was  sitting  in  the  cook-tent 
watching  the  last  embers  of  the  sunset  and 
the  varying  lights  and  shadows  on  the  river.  Shep 
stood  near  the  edge  of  the  bluff. 

Suddenly  the  dog's  ears  pointed  forward  attentively 
and  his  whole  body  quivered.  It  was  clear  that  some 
thing  unusual  had  come  in  sight.  No  sooner  had  David 
reached  the  brow  of  the  bluff  than  he  saw  the  cause  of 
Shep's  excitement.  A  black  animal  was  lapping  the 
water  where  the  river  curved  to  the  northwest,  about 
three  hundred  feet  distant. 

The  semi-darkness  and  the  heavy  mosquito  net  over 
his  face  prevented  David  from  seeing  clearly,  but  he 
instantly  formed  the  conclusion  that  it  was  a  dog 
belonging  to  some  pack  train  on  the  neighboring  trail, 
and  whistled  to  see  what  it  would  do. 

On  hearing  the  whistle  the  animal  raised  its  head, 
gazed  a  moment  at  the  two  figures  on  the  bluff,  resumed 
its  drinking,  and  then,  having  satisfied  its  thirst,  turned 
and  started  up  the  slope.  As  it  did  so,  David  was  con- 


280     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

scious  that  it  had  a  slinking  gait  unlike  that  of  a  dog, 
and  for  the  first  time  he  thought  how  queer  it  was  that 
Shep  had  not  offered  to  run  down  and  make  friends 
with  the  stranger. 

"It's  a  small  black  bear,"  flashed  into  his  mind.  In 
stantly  he  ran  with  all  speed  to  the  cabin  for  the  shot 
gun,  which  he  kept  loaded  with  buck-shot.  The 
captain's  party  had  carried  off  the  only  rifle,  and  David 
was  now  sorry  he  had  not  brought  his  own.  He  caught 
up  the  shot-gun,  however,  and  slipping  a  few  extra  car 
tridges  into  his  pocket,  ran  back  to  the  bluff  where  Shep 
stood  guard. 

The  strange  animal  had  disappeared. 

For  a  moment  David  was  disconcerted.  He  had  not 
thought  the  bear  could  get  away  so  quickly,  nor  could 
he  be  sure  whether  it  had  gone  into  the  fringe  of  trees 
and  bushes  along  the  river-bank  or  continued  up  the 
slope.  He  hesitated,  too,  before  setting  out  to  attack 
such  an  animal  with  only  a  shot-gun  for  a  weapon  and 
a  dog  of  doubtful  courage  as  an  ally.  The  next  instant, 
however,  he  had  decided  to  track  and  kill  the  beast  if 
possible,  and  calling  Shep  to  follow,  he  hurried  down 
to  the  river's  sandy  brink  to  examine  the  tracks  by  the 
waning  light.  He  was  quite  puzzled  at  finding  that  they 
were  almost  identical  in  appearance  with  those  made  by 
Shep,  but  at  length  the  truth  dawned  upon  him.  He  had 
to  deal,  not  with  a  young  bear,  but  with  a  full-grown  wolf  I 


RAIDED  BY  A  WOLF  281 

He  now  endeavored  to  make  Shep  take  the  scent,  but 
Shep  was  not  trained  to  such  work  and  sniffed  around 
indiscriminately  without  attempting  to  follow  the  animal's 
trail.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  track  the  wolf 
himself.  He  accordingly  traced  every  track  as  far  as  it 
would  lead  him.  One  proceeded  from  the  fringe  of 
bushes  to  the  point  where  the  animal  drank,  while 
another  led  straight  up  the  face  of  the  bluff.  The 
latter  he  followed  as  far  as  the  sand  continued ;  but  the 
top  of  the  elevation  was  grassy,  and  in  the  growing 
darkness  the  trail  was  quickly  lost.  Keeping  his  eyes 
and  ears  alert  for  the  slightest  sound,  David  penetrated 
some  distance  into  the  open  woods,  but  without  discov 
ering  further  signs  of  the  animal.  Satisfied  that  noth 
ing  more  could  be  done,  he  returned  to  camp,  and  took 
unusual  pains  to  fasten  the  frail  cabin  door  securely 
when  he  turned  in  for  the  night. 

Nor  was  he  destined  to  sleep  without  an  alarm.  A 
noise  of  rattling  tin  awoke  him  with  a  start.  The 
interior  of  the  cabin  was  quite  dark,  since,  as  we  have 
said,  there  were  no  windows;  but  the  nights  were  not 
yet  without  some  light,  and  feeble  rays  outlined  every 
chink  as  David  sat  up,  threw  off  his  mosquito  net, 
and  looked  around.  Again  came  the  rattle  of  tin. 
It  evidently  proceeded  from  a  pile  of  empty  cans  just 
outside  the  cabin.  He  brought  himself  to  a  kneeling 
posture  and  pressed  his  face  close  to  one  of  the  widest 


282     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

chinks.  Presently  he  distinguished  an  animal  nosing 
among  the  cans  and  making  the  noise  which  had  awak 
ened  him.  It  was  Shep.  David  spoke  to  the  dog,  and 
having  seen  him  walk  away  with  a  somewhat  shame 
faced  air,  he  settled  himself  once  more  among  the 
blankets  and  was  soon  asleep  again. 

Seven  days  had  passed  when  the  monotony  of  his 
existence  was  broken  by  the  arrival  of  strangers.  It  was 
in  the  afternoon  that  he  heard  voices  and  the  sound  of 
horses  from  the  direction  of  the  trail,  and  a  minute  later 
saw  two  young  fellows  ride  up,  followed  by  a  dozen 
pack  animals. 

"  Hello ! "  exclaimed  the  foremost  rider  as  he  saw 
David,  "this  place  has  changed  hands,  I  guess,  since 
we  was  here  last.  How  d'you  do?  Hovey  and  Herrick 
gone  away?" 

"Yes,"  answered  David.  "They  left  for  the  Kah  Sha 
River  a  week  ago.  You  've  been  here  before? " 

"Oh,  yes!  We're  packing  back  and  forth  between 
Pyramid  Harbor  and  Five  Finger  Rapids  for  the  owner 
of  these  horses.  We  always  like  to  put  up  here  for 
the  night,  for  it's  pretty  lonesome  on  this  trail." 

"That's  so,"  said  David,  feelingly.  He,  too,  was  not 
a  little  pleased  at  the  thought  of  company,  and  the  more 
so  in  the  present  instance,  because  the  new-comers  were 
near  his  own  age.  The  elder  was  slender,  with  dark 
hair  and  a  rather  sparse  growth  of  beard,  and  might 


EAIDED  BY  A  WOLF  283 

have  been  twenty-two  or  three,  while  the  other  was  a 
ruddy,  plump  lad  of  about  seventeen. 

"My  name's  Close,"  said  the  dark-haired  one,  as  he 
dismounted  and  proceeded  to  unsaddle  his  horse.  "  We  're 
from  Wisconsin." 

In  return  for  this  information  David  gave  his  own 
name  and  residence. 

The  Wisconsin  boys  took  the  packs  from  their  horses 
and  turned  them  loose  to  graze. 

"Now  for  supper,"  said  Close. 

"You'll  find  a  stove  and  dishes  and  a  table,  such 
as  it  is,  in  the  cook-tent  yonder,"  said  David,  hospit 
ably.  "  I  guess  you  know  your  way  around.  Just  make 
yourselves  at  home,  and  I  '11  have  the  fire  going  in  a 
jiffy." 

It  took  the  strangers  but  a  short  time  to  cook  their 
evening  meal,  and  as  soon  as  they  had  finished  with 
the  stove  David  prepared  his  own  supper,  and  the  three 
sat  down  together. 

"Can  you  spare  us  enough  butter  for  our  bread?" 
asked  Close.  "We  're  all  out." 

"Yes,"  said  David,  passing  it  over,  "help  yourself." 
He  knew  there  were  but  two  more  cans  in  the  cache 
under  his  charge,  but  he  felt  certain  the  captain  would 
wish  him  to  extend  such  hospitalities  as  lay  in  his 
power;  and  he  would  much  rather  have  gone  without 
butter  himself  for  a  time  than  deny  it  to  his  guests. 


284     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

They,  however,  had  no  intention  of  trenching  on  David's 
slender  stock  without  returning  an  equivalent. 

"You  don't  seem  to  have  any  condensed  milk,"  ob 
served  the  younger  of  the  two. 

"  No,"  said  David.  "  There  is  n't  a  drop.  I '  ve  looked 
the  whole  cache  over  for  it." 

"Well,  here!  You  just  take  what  you  want  out  of 
our  can.  We  've  got  milk  if  we  have  n't  got  butter.  Try 
some  of  that  dried  fruit,  too." 

Having  thanked  his  friends,  David  inquired  if  the  trail 
was  in  good  shape.  He  was  thinking  that  before  long 
he  would  be  tramping  back  over  it. 

"Yes,"  answered  Close,  "most  of  it's  good;  but 
there  's  some  bad  bogs  where  the  horses  get  mired.  Those 
cattle  herds  have  cut  it  all  to  pieces  where  the  ground  is 
soft.  We  haven't  had  much  trouble,  though." 

"No,"  put  in  his  companion,  "when  we  get  started  we 
can  go  along  well  enough.  The  worst  of  this  packing 
business  is  ketching  the  horses  in  the  morning.  The 
critters  are  as  sly  as  foxes.  They  '11  stand  so  still  in 
the  thickets  when  they  hear  you  coming  that  you  can 
go  within  ten  feet  of  'em  and  never  know  they  're  there." 

"They  keep  pretty  well  together,  though,"  said  the 
other,  "and  the  tracks  are  generally  plain.  Besides, 
there  's  a  bell  on  one  of  them." 

"If  they  were  my  horses,"  declared  David,  "I  would 
bell  them  all." 


RAIDED   BY   A  WOLF  285 

"And  it  wouldn't  be  a  bad  idea,"  said  Close,  with  a 
laugh. 

By  David's  invitation  the  Wisconsin  boys  slept  that 
night  on  the  bedstead  in  the  tent.  They  breakfasted 
early  and  then  set  out  to  round  up  their  horses,  which 
they  accomplished  in  a  couple  of  hours  after  a  long 
tramp  through  the  woods.  Having  loaded  the  animals, 
they  bade  David  good-by  and  rode  away  toward  the 
trail,  presently  shouting  back,  "Better  call  the  dog; 
he  's  following  the  horses." 

David  whistled  Shep  back  and  ordered  him  to  lie 
down.  It  was  no  wonder  he  thought  every  one  his 
master,  he  had  changed  owners  so  often.  He  now  lay 
down  quietly  enough  on  the  ground  before  the  cook- 
tent  and  appeared  to  have  forgotten  all  about  the  pack 
train. 

An  hour  later  David  finished  his  wood-chopping  and 
suddenly  noticed  that  Shep  was  gone.  At  first  he 
thought  little  of  the  matter,  supposing  him  to  be  some 
where  in  the  neighborhood,  but  when  another  hour  passed 
without  him,  he  feared  Shep  had  followed  the  horses, 
after  all.  He  whistled  again  and  again,  but  no  dog 
came;  and  now  he  was  perplexed  to  know  what  to  do. 
By  this  time  the  pack  train  was  six  or  eight  miles  away. 
The  dog  would  overtake  it  easily,  but  he  could  not  hope 
to  do  so  before  it  halted  for  the  night;  and  he  did  not 
like  to  leave  so  long  the  property  of  which  he  was  in 


286     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

charge.  The  Wisconsin  boys  might  send  the  dog  back, 
or,  failing  in  that,  they  would  doubtless  deliver  him  up 
to  the  captain,  whom  they  would  probably  see  before 
many  days.  So,  however  much  he  regretted  the  loss  of 
his  only  companion,  he  concluded  to  let  the  matter  drop. 

A  little  later,  from  the  sand-ridge  back  of  the  tents,  he 
perceived  a  column  of  white  smoke  above  the  trees  near 
the  river,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  southeast.  It  indi 
cated  the  presence  of  either  white  men  or  Indians  on  the 
trail,  and  Shep  might  be  with  them.  David  lost  no 
time  in  locking  the  cabin  door  and  setting  out  rapidly 
in  the  direction  of  the  smoke. 

On  his  hunting  excursions  he  had  noticed  an  Indian 
canoe  bottom-up  near  that  spot,  and  naturally  supposed 
that  the  dusky  owners  had  now  arrived.  He  found, 
however,  that  two  white  men  had  kindled  a  fire  against 
a  fallen  tree  for  the  purpose  of  cooking  their  midday 
meal.  Their  two  horses  were  grazing  near  by.  The 
strangers  were  men  of  middle  age,  with  thick,  grizzled 
beards  and  sunbrowned  faces.  They  seemed  surprised 
to  see  David,  but  greeted  him  pleasantly. 

"  Camping  near  here  ?  "  they  asked. 

" Yes, "  answered  David,  seating  himself  sociably;  "at 
Champlain's  Landing." 

"  Oh,  yes!  "  exclaimed  one  of  the  men,  "I  saw  the  sign 
board  on  the  tree  where  your  path  turns  off,  but  I  did  n't 
know  any  one  was  there." 


RAIDED   BY  A  WOLF  287 

"Have  you  come  from  Dawson?"  asked  David. 

"Yes;  we  left  there  nine  days  ago." 

"  Any  new  strikes  ?  " 

"No,  none  recently;  but  the  people  keep  swarming  in 
over  the  other  trails." 

"  What  are  they  paying  in  wages  ?  " 

"Seven  to  ten  dollars  a  day." 

"I  've  heard  it  was  very  unhealthy  there." 

"Yes,  there  's  a  good  deal  of  scurvy  and  pneumonia." 

"  Any  starvation  last  winter?  " 

"No,  but  it  was  a  tight  squeeze  for  some  of  them." 

"Does  a  man  stand  much  chance  of  a  fortune  who 
goes  there  now?" 

"  Not  if  he  expects  to  dig  gold.  The  paying  ground  is 
all  taken  up  and  a  good  deal  more.  There  's  a  better 
chance  now  in  trading.  In  fact,  that 's  what  my  partner 
and  I  are  going  into.  We  've  discovered  that  some 
things  are  mighty  scarce  in  Dawson,  and  people  will 
pay  almost  anything  for  them,  so  we  're  going  out  to  the 
coast  to  bring  in  a  stock  of  goods.  We  shall  try  to  be 
back  before  cold  weather." 

David  had  kept  his  eyes  open  for  Shep,  but  seeing 
nothing  of  him,  he  asked  if  they  had  met  two  young  fel 
lows  that  morning  and  had  noticed  a  black  and  white 
dog.  The  men  remembered  the  pack  train  well  enough, 
but  neither  had  any  recollection  of  seeing  the  dog.  So 
David  went  back  to  the  Landing  more  mystified  than  ever. 


288     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

With  Shep  away,  he  felt  instinctively  that  the  wolf 
would  pay  him  another  visit;  nor  was  he  mistaken. 
That  night  he  slept  deeply  and  heard  no  sound,  but 
when  he  arose  and  went  out  to  the  cook-tent,  he  rubbed 
his  eyes  in  astonishment.  Wolf-tracks  were  everywhere, 
dishes  were  scattered  about,  a  five-pound  piece  of  bacon 
had  disappeared,  and  the  butter  can,  which  had  stood 
in  a  pail  of  water  on  the  top  of  the  rude  sideboard  five 
feet  above  the  ground  now  lay  on  the  grass,  where  the 
wolf  had  ineffectually  tried  to  get  at  the  contents. 
Strange  to  say,  the  pail  from  which  the  can  had  been 
abstracted  stood  unmoved  in  its  accustomed  place. 

David  picked  up  the  scattered  utensils  and  smiled 
rather  grimly  to  think  how  he  had  slept  for  two  nights 
in  the  open,  unprotected  tent,  exposed  to  this  midnight 
prowler. 


A  LONG  MARCH,    WITH  A   SURPRISE         289 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

A  LONG  MARCH,    WITH  A   SURPRISE  AT  THE  END  OF  IT 

AS  the  time  approached  for  David  to  be  relieved 
from  duty,  he  began  to  watch  for  the  expected 
traveller  and  to  conjecture  as  to  who  would  be 
sent.  Two  weeks  had  passed  since  he  had  left  the  camp 
on  Alder  Creek.  It  was  now  near  the  end  of  July. 

About  noon  of  the  day  following  the  departure  of 
Shep  and  the  midnight  visit  of  the  wolf,  as  he  was  cook 
ing  his  dinner,  he  saw  Davidson,  a  young  Bostonian, 
swinging  rapidly  up  the  path.  The  two  exchanged  cor 
dial  greetings,  and  David  immediately  prepared  to  give 
his  friend  a  hearty  meal. 

"How  did  you  leave  the  people  in  the  Shorty  Creek 
district?"  asked  the  young  cook  when  the  new-comer 
had  removed  his  light  pack  and  seated  himself  in  one 
of  Hovey's  rustic  chairs. 

"Everybody  was  well  when  I  left,"  answered  David 
son,  "  except  old  Tom  Moore,  the  recorder.  He  's  down 
with  scurvy,  but  I  guess  our  doctor  will  fix  him  up. 
They  've  sent  him  a  lot  of  dried  fruit  and  vegetables, 
and  that  diet  ought  to  help  him.  I  don't  believe  he 
had  eaten  much  but  bacon  for  a  month,  and  he  hardly 

19 


290     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

ever  stirred  out  of  his  tent.     It 's  no  wonder  the  scurvy 
caught  him." 

"I  should  think  so,"  said  David.  And  then  he  asked 
abruptly,  "How  long  did  it  take  you  to  get  here, 
Davidson?" 

"Two  days  and  a  half  from  Reitz's  tent  on  Klukshu 
Lake,"  was  the  reply. 

"That's  quick  time.  You  must  be  a  good  walker. 
I  just  wish  my  legs  were  as  long  as  yours.  How  far 
do  you  think  it  is?" 

"About  sixty-five  miles  by  the  trail.  You'd  better 
allow  three  days  if  you  carry  anything." 

"I  shall  have  about  forty  pounds,"  said  David.  "The 
men  at  Moran's  gave  me  a  list  of  things  they  wanted  out 
of  their  clothing  bags,  and  I  sent  all  I  could  by  the 
boat;  but  in  the  hurry  I  couldn't  find  everything.  Is 
Reitz  catching  any  salmon  yet?" 

"Oh,  yes;  plenty  of  them.  Humphrey  is  with  him 
now,  and  they  're  having  all  they  can  do." 

Next  morning  David  gave  his  friend  such  directions 
regarding  the  cache  as  had  been  given  to  himself,  and 
surrendered  the  key  of  the  padlock  on  the  cabin  door. 
Then  he  cooked  three  days'  rations  of  bacon,  biscuits, 
and  rice,  to  which  he  added  some  pieces  of  jerked  beef 
which  Davidson  had  brought  and  kindly  offered  him. 
Finally  he  made  up  his  pack,  and  an  hour  before  noon 
was  ready  to  start  on  the  long,  solitary  tramp.  If  he 


A   LONG  MARCH,    WITH  A   SURPRISE         291 

had  stopped  to  think  much  about  it  he  might  well  have 
shrunk  from  so  lonely  a  journey  through  the  wilder 
ness,  for  he  was  armed  only  with  hunting-knife  and 
hatchet,  but  the  thought  of  getting  back  to  his  friends 
was  uppermost  and  made  him  light-hearted;  and,  besides, 
if  Davidson  had  made  the  journey,  he  was  sure  he  could. 

"Hold  on!"  exclaimed  Davidson,  suddenly,  as  he  saw 
the  lad  taking  up  his  pack.  "I  'm  going  with  you  a  few 
miles.  I  '11  carry  the  pack." 

"  Oh,  no  indeed ! "  said  David,  whose  pride  was 
touched.  It  seemed  almost  effeminate  to  surrender  his 
burden  to  one  who  had  hardly  yet  rested  after  a  long 
journey.  "I'm  perfectly  fresh,  and  you  must  be  tired. 
It 's  mighty  kind  of  you,  but  I  can't  let  you." 

"You  don't  feel  the  need  of  a  lift  now,"  said  David 
son,  kindly,  "  but  you  may  at  the  other  end  of  the  day's 
march.  And  it 's  only  at  this  end  that  I  can  help  you." 

"But  surely  I  can  carry  that  load  all  day.  It  isn't 
heavy,  —  and  it  really  belongs  to  me  to  take  it. " 

"Then  I  won't  go  with  you,  Dave." 

David  instantly  perceived  that  if  he  refused  the  gen 
erous  offer  of  his  friend  he  would  hurt  his  feelings,  and 
that  he  ought  to  yield.  "Well,  then,"  said  he,  "rather 
than  lose  your  company,  I  accept  your  conditions,  and 
please  don't  think  me  ungrateful." 

So  Davidson  fastened  the  pack  upon  his  own  shoul 
ders,  and  having  locked  the  cabin,  the  two  set  off  down 


292     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

the  path  to  the  trail,  which  they  followed  till  they  had 
covered  about  five  miles  and  were  near  the  entrance  to 
the  pass  between  Mount  Bratnober  and  Mount  Champlain. 
They  now  sat  down  beside  a  brook,  and  David  proceeded 
to  eat  his  dinner,  which  he  insisted  his  companion 
should  share.  This  Davidson  was  reluctant  to  do,  since 
he  knew  the  lad  would  have  to  calculate  closely  to  make 
his  food  last.  He  was  finally  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a 
piece  of  bacon  and  half  a  biscuit,  but  would  take  no 
more. 

"If  I  were  you,"  said  Davidson,  "I  should  divide  the 
journey  into  three  parts  as  nearly  equal  as  possible. 
From  the  Landing  to  Pennock's  Post  is  about  twenty- 
five  miles.  You  'd  better  try  to  reach  there  to-night. 
Then  it 's  twenty  miles  to  the  river  that  flows  into 
Dasar-dee-ash  from  the  east.  You  '11  have  to  wade  it, 
unless  there 's  somebody  there  with  a  horse.  I  was 
lucky  enough  to  find  a  pack  train  at  the  ford.  The 
water  won't  come  much  above  your  waist." 

"  H-m !  "  said  David,  laconically.  "  Ice-water,  I 
suppose." 

"Very  likely.  Then  on  the  third  day  you  can  make 
the  remaining  twenty  miles  to  Reitz's  camp,  and  go 
over  to  Moran's  any  time  you  like." 

"Thank  you,  Davidson,"  said  his  young  friend. 
"That's  just  the  way  I'll  plan  to  do  it." 

They  parted  with  mutual  good-will,  and  David,  with 


A  LONG  MARCH,   WITH  A  SURPRISE         293 

the  pack  now  on  his  own  back,  soon  found  himself 
traversing  the  recently  burned  district  within  the  pass. 
The  mighty  cliff  of  Mount  Champlain  .towered  on  his 
left,  while  across  the  river  rose  the  hardly  less  stupen 
dous  crags  of  Mount  Bratnober.  On  every  side  the 
country  was  bright  with  the  purple  fireweed,  which  had 
sprung  up  from  the  ashes  as  if  by  magic. 

There  were  scattered  patches  of  forest  which  the  great 
conflagration  had  spared,  and  in  the  midst  of  one  of 
these  David  was  suddenly  aware  of  a  crackling  sound 
ahead.  The  next  instant  he  caught  a  whiff  of  smoke 
and  saw  it  rising  in  a  dense  cloud  through  the  trees.  A 
few  steps  more  and  he  found  himself  in  a  shower  of 
sparks  which  a  sudden  gust  blew  toward  him.  Forced 
to  beat  a  precipitate  retreat,  he  made  a  detour  to  the 
windward  of  the  burning  area,  from  which  side  he  was 
able  to  make  a  closer  examination. 

Plainly  some  careless  traveller  had  allowed  his  camp- 
fire  to  get  beyond  his  control,  or  else  had  neglected  to 
extinguish  it  when  he  moved  on.  The  flames  had  crept 
through  the  moss  and  communicated  with  several  dry 
spruces,  which  were  now  blazing  fiercely.  It  was 
utterly  beyond  David's  power  to  check  the  spread  of  the 
flames,  but  he  reflected  that  the  whole  country  around 
had  been  burned  over,  and  the  fire  could  not  extend 
past  the  limits  of  the  oasis -like  grove  in  which  it  had 
originated,  so  he  continued  on  his  journey. 


294     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

In  an  open  stretch  of  meadow  he  came  upon  a  white 
horse  and  a  mule  grazing  contentedly.  The  animals 
raised  their  heads  in  mute  inquiry,  and  then  resumed 
their  feeding.  David  looked  about  for  the  owners,  but 
seeing  no  one,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  these  were 
waifs  from  some  pack  train,  and  might  now  be  appro 
priated  by  any  one  who  could  catch  them.  It  was  a 
great  temptation  to  try.  Riding  was  certainly  an  im 
provement  on  walking;  and  if  he  could  not  do  that 
without  a  bridle,  he  could  at  least  lead  the  horse  with  a 
bit  of  rope  and  make  him  carry  his  pack.  On  second 
thought,  however,  he  abandoned  the  idea.  Perhaps 
the  animals  were  not  lost.  The  owners  might  be 
somewhere  in  the  neighborhood.  If  this  were  the  case, 
and  he  were  seen  leading  the  horse  away,  he  might  be 
accused  of  horse-stealing,  —  a  very  serious  charge  on 
the  trail.  It  was  better  to  let  them  alone,  and  he 
plodded  on. 

A  little  later  he  caught  sight  of  a  black  animal  among 
the  trees  ahead,  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  a  lonely, 
creepy  sensation  ran  up  his  back  at  that  moment.  He 
loosened  the  hatchet  in  its  leather  case  as  he  walked,  but 
soon  saw  that  the  beast  was  not  a  bear,  but  a  large  black 
dog  which,  having  even  more  respect  for  him  than  he 
had  felt  for  it,  turned  out  of  the  trail  and  gave  him  a 
wide  berth.  A  few  minutes  afterward  he  met  two  men 
with  a  small  pack  train,  and  concluded  that  the  dog  was 


A  LONG  MARCH,   WITH  A   SURPRISE         295 

theirs.  The  men  nodded  pleasantly  as  they  passed;  they 
were  the  only  persons  he  saw  on  the  trail  that  day. 

By  mid-afternoon  he  found  himself  getting  tired.  A 
great  many  trees  had  fallen  across  the  path,  and  the 
labor  of  stepping  over  them  contributed  materially  to  his 
fatigue.  There  were  bogs,  too,  so  cut  up  by  the  passage 
of  horses  and  cattle  that  it  was  difficult  for  a  pedestrian  to 
cross  without  becoming  stuck  fast.  Usually,  however,  a 
sapling  had  been  cut  down  and  laid  over  the  ooze,  and 
David  crossed  all  but  one  of  these  rude  bridges  suc 
cessfully. 

The  one  exception  nearly  cost  him  dear.  He  made  a 
misstep,  and  his  right  foot  slipped  into  the  mud  beside 
the  log.  The  mud  and  water  offered  no  support,  and 
the  sudden  lurch  having  thrown  the  weight  of  his  pack 
to  that  side,  his  foot  sank  deeper  and  deeper  without 
reaching  solid  ground.  By  good  fortune  his  other  foot 
was  still  on  the  log,  and,  better  still,  there  were  stout 
bushes  on  the  other  side.  These  he  grasped  desperately 
as  he  sank,  and  by  a  violent  effort  restored  his  balance 
and  drew  himself  back  upon  the  log. 

In  the  early  evening  he  waded  Frying-Pan  Creek  and 
caught  the  first  welcome  glimpse  of  Pennock's  Post. 
"Now,"  thought  he,  "I  shall  have  a  good  night's  rest 
in  my  own  bunk,"  —  for  he  had  brought  no  tent;  so  with 
a  light  heart  in  spite  of  his  weariness,  he  turned  toward 
the  cabin. 


296     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

But  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  What  was 
his  astonishment  at  finding  an  enormous  padlock  and  a 
heavy  chain  upon  the  door!  And  hardly  had  he  touched 
the  contrivance  to  determine  whether  it  was  locked, 
when  there  was  an  angry  growl  and  the  rattle  of  a  chain 
within  the  building,  and  he  knew  by  the  sound  that  a 
fierce  dog  had  sprung  toward  the  door  to  oppose  his 
entrance. 

If  he  had  been  surprised  at  seeing  the  padlock,  it  was 
nothing  to  the  burning  indignation  which  now  possessed 
him.  He  passed  around  to  the  north  window.  Some 
one,  probably  an  Indian,  had  loosened  one  of  the  wooden 
bars  and  torn  a  hole  in  the  cheese-cloth  in  order  to  look 
into  the  interior.  He  took  advantage  of  the  rent  to  do 
likewise.  In  the  southeast  corner  of  the  cabin  he  could 
see  a  great  pile  of  goods.  The  dog,  a  huge  and  savage- 
looking  beast,  was  chained  to  the  corner  post  of  Pennock's 
bunk,  and  there  was  a  dish  of  water  and  another  of  meat 
on  the  floor.  David  was  locked  out  of  his  own  house, 
and  it  was  garrisoned  against  him. 


HOW  DAVID   MET   THE   OFFENDER.  297 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

HOW   DAVID  MET  THE  OFFENDER    AND  WAS    PREVENTED 
FROM  SPEAKING  HIS  MIND 

HAVING  satisfied  himself  that  the  owner  of  the 
cache  was  not  about,  David  threw  off  his  pack, 
and  sat  down  upon  it  with   his  back  against 
the  log  wall  to  consider  what  he  would  do ;  and  the  more 
he  thought  about  it,  the  more  his  anger  rose. 

It  was  the  custom  on  the  trail  to  cache  provisions  any 
where.  Both  Indians  and  white  men  respected  the  un 
written  law  which  held  the  theft  of  food  in  such  a  region 
to  be  worthy  of  death.  No  one  but  a  starving  man  or 
a  desperado  would  violate  that  law,  and  there  were  few 
such.  Indeed,  David  had  never  seen  any  indication  that 
this  chance  of  loss  was  being  reckoned  with.  But  here 
was  a  man  who  apparently  distrusted  all  his  fellow-men, 
—  who  suspected  every  traveller  on  the  trail,  —  who  not 
only  confiscated  a  cabin  for  the  storage  of  his  goods, 
but  took  contemptible  measures  to  protect  his  property. 
David  felt  instinctively  that  he  had  to  deal  with  as  mean, 
sour,  and  selfish  a  person  as  it  had  ever  been  his  lot  to 
meet,  and  had  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  the  character 
of  the  master,  as  is  often  the  case,  could  be  accurately 


298     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

surmised  from  the  temper  of  his  dog.  The  latter  still 
growled  and  barked  viciously  at  every  sound. 

At  last  he  rose  and  went  to  the  rear  of  the  cabin,  think 
ing  to  enter  by  way  of  the  fireplace.  He  knew  he  could 
easily  loosen  and  remove  two  or  three  of  the  stakes  which 
had  surrounded  the  stove,  and  once  inside  the  cabin,  he 
could  sleep  in  his  own  bunk,  which  was  situated  diago 
nally  opposite  the  corner  where  the  dog  was  chained. 
But  no  sooner  had  he  begun  to  carry  out  this  plan  than 
the  savage  animal  became  furious,  and  it  was  perfectly 
evident  that  he  would  have  no  rest  in  the  company  of 
such  a  brute. 

"If  I  only  had  my  rifle,"  he  groaned. 

It  is  entirely  safe  to  say  that  with  it  he  would  have 
made  an  end  of  the  animal  without  a  moment's  hesita 
tion,  flung  its  body  into  the  creek,  and  taken  possession 
of  the  cabin,  which  his  own  hands  had  helped  to  build. 
To  be  sure,  he  might  kill  the  dog  with  the  hatchet,  but 
such  butchery  was  repugnant  to  him,  and  he  quickly  dis 
missed  the  idea.  On  the  whole,  it  would  be  best,  he 
decided,  to  spend  the  night  under  the  open  sky,  where 
there  would  be  no  distractions  other  than  the  wind  in  the 
trees  and  the  continual  singing  of  the  mosquitoes.  So  he 
picked  up  his  pack,  trudged  off  into  the  grove  of  spruces 
to  the  south,  and  selected  a  dry,  level,  sandy  spot  near 
the  edge  of  the  bluff  which  fronted  the  river.  Here  he 
ate  a  frugal  supper,  then  spread  his  blankets  on  the 


HOW  DAVID   MET   THE   OFFENDER.  299 

ground,  and  so  passed  the  night,  though  the  assiduous 
musical  insects  which  swarmed  upon  his  head-net  robbed 
him  of  nearly  all  sleep.  After  an  early  breakfast,  he 
resumed  his  march,  fully  resolved,  in  the  event  of  their 
meeting,  to  tell  the  owner  of  the  cache  exactly  what  he 
thought  of  him. 

This  part  of  the  trail  was  familiar,  and  he  walked 
briskly,  only  pausing  at  the  foot  of  the  first  small  lake 
to  catch  two  or  three  grayling,  with  which  to  eke  out  his 
scanty  rations.  These  he  roasted  before  a  fire  at  noon, 
and,  rudely  cooked  as  they  were,  they  proved  very  pala 
table,  accompanied  by  small  berries  of  a  bluish  color  and 
black  moss-berries,  which  grew  there  in  abundance. 

He  had  passed  the  point  where  in  May  the  Bradfords 
had  left  the  main  trail  to  turn  toward  the  lake,  when  he 
descried  a  pack  train  approaching  across  an  open  meadow. 
As  the  caravan  came  nearer,  David  was  convinced  that 
he  saw  before  him  the  owner  of  the  cache  and  the  canine. 
At  the  head  of  the  procession  leaped  five  or  six  dogs  of 
fierce  aspect.  Following  them  came  a  round-shouldered 
old  Irishman,  riding  on  a  big  gray  mule,  and  behind  him 
was  a  string  of  mules  loaded  with  sacks  and  boxes. 

The  dogs  set  off  toward  David  with  a  rush,  as  soon  as 
they  saw  him,  and  it  was  all  their  master  could  do  to 
check  them.  As  it  was,  David  made  sure  that  his  hatchet 
was  free  before  he  encountered  the  pack,  and  even  had 
he  brought  that  weapon  into  play,  he  would  have  been 


300     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

overwhelmed  in  a  twinkling  had  not  the  dogs  been  in  evi 
dent  fear  of  the  old  man.  Having  jumped  about  David 
noisily,  but  without  offering  violence,  they  passed  on  in 
obedience  to  a  gruff  command.  The  rider  of  the  mule 
now  drew  up  and  eyed  David  in  silence  a  moment. 

"  Where  'd  ye  come  from  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  rather 
impertinent  tone,  as  David  thought. 

"Champlain's  Landing,"  said  David,  shortly.  He  was 
not  in  a  mood  to  be  trifled  with. 

"How  far  may  it  be  to  Pennock's  Post?"  asked  the 
stranger,  still  eying  him  suspiciously. 

"All  of  fifteen  miles,"  said  David. 

"Fifteen  miles!  "  exclaimed  the  man,  in  anything  but 
a  pleasant  voice.  "I  wouldn't  have  said  'twas  that  far, 
—  an'  it's  there  I  must  be  to-night."  Suddenly  he 
glared  again  at  David.  "An'  where  'd  ye  stay  last 
night?" 

"At  Pennock's  Post,"  said  David. 

"  Stayed  at  Pennock's,  did  ye  ?  "  snarled  the  old  fellow. 
"Did  n't  ye  find  something  there,  hey?  " 

This  was  just  what  David  had  been  waiting  for. 
Another  moment,  and  he  would  have  uncorked  the  ex 
plosive  phials  of  wrath,  but  hearing  a  light  footstep  he 
turned,  and  the  next  instant,  without  a  single  angry 
word,  set  his  lips  hard. 

It  was  neither  fear  nor  irresolution  which  occasioned 
this  remarkable  change  on  David's  part,  but  a  delicate, 


HOW   DAVID   MET  THE   OFFENDER  301 

chivalrous  sense  of  the  consideration  a  man  always  owes 
to  the  gentler  sex.  On  turning  his  head,  he  became 
aware,  for  the  first  time,  of  the  presence  of  a  woman. 

She  was  slender,  gray-haired,  and  gentle-faced.  She 
was  neatly  dressed  in  black,  and  had  been  walking  behind 
the  pack  train.  It  flashed  through  David's  mind  instantly 
that  this  was  the  old  man's  wife,  and  he  was  conscious  of 
a  feeling  of  pity.  Furthermore,  she  was  the  first  white 
woman  he  had  seen  for  many  months.  It  was  a  delight 
just  to  look  at  her.  Quarrel  in  her  presence  he  could  not, 
nor  add  one  jot  to  the  burden  which  he  felt  sure  she  must 
bear  as  the  consort  of  such  a  man. 

It  was  the  sight  of  this  elderly  woman  which  had  sealed 
his  lips,  and  now,  to  the  astonishment  of  her  husband, 
David  turned  and  walked  away  without  a  reply.  The 
woman  spoke  to  him  kindly  as  he  passed,  and  he  touched 
his  cap  respectfully.  Hardly  had  he  cleared  the  pack 
train  before  he  heard  the  old  man  belaboring  the  mule 
on  which  he  rode,  and  swearing  roundly  at  the  other 
animals.  He  wondered  if  the  poor  wife  would  have  to 
walk  those  fifteen  long  miles  while  her  husband  rode. 

Not  long  afterward  he  met  a  second  section  of  the 
train,  in  charge  of  a  tall,  broad-shouldered  fellow,  who 
evidently  preferred  not  to  overtake  his  employer. 

David  pressed  on  with  all  possible  speed,  but  since 
noon  his  left  foot  had  been  giving  him  pain,  and  he  now 
became  more  crippled  with  every  step.  Whether  it  was 


302     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

rheumatism  or  a  bruise  or  strain  he  did  not  know,  but  by 
the  time  he  reached  the  river  he  was  ready  to  drop. 

To  his  delight,  a  large  tent  on  the  hither  bank  indicated 
the  presence  of  some  one  at  the  ford,  and  he  had  no  doubt 
he  could  cross  dry-shod  on  the  morrow.  On  reaching 
this  tent  he  was  surprised  to  find  no  one  within,  but, 
confident  that  the  owner  was  near,  he  threw  off  his  pack 
with  a  sigh  of  relief,  and  stretched  himself  wearily  on  a 
pile  of  canvas  coverings. 

An  hour  or  more  had  dragged  by  when  David  saw  a 
slender  young  man,  with  a  bushy  brown  beard,  leading  a 
bony  horse  toward  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  He 
mounted  at  the  ford,  and,  having  crossed,  took  off  the 
saddle  and  turned  the  steed  loose. 

"How  are  you?"  said  the  stranger  cordially,  as  he 
noticed  David.  "Been  here  long?" 

"About  an  hour,"  answered  David.  "I  thought  you 
wouldn't  mind  my  resting  here." 

"Not  at  all.  Make  yourself  at  home.  Did  n't  see  any 
thing  of  a  stray  mule  round  here,  did  you?  I've  been 
hunting  that  mule  all  the  afternoon,  but  I  can't  find  the 
critter." 

"No,  I  didn't  see  it." 

"I  s'pose  you  met  the  old  man?  He  owns  this  outfit 
here." 

"Oh,  ho!  "  exclaimed  David.  "Is  that  so?"  A  sud 
den  light  came  into  his  eyes,  and  traces  of  a  smile  appeared 


HOW  DAVID   MET  THE   OFFENDER  303 

at  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  "What  sort  of  a  man  is 
he?"  he  asked. 

"Well,"  replied  Smith,  — he  had  informed  David  that 
such  was  his  name,  and  Yonkers,  New  York,  his  home,  — 
"he's  different  from  any  Irishman  I  ever  saw.  Hasn't 
any  more  sense  of  humor  than  a  cow,  and  he  's  the  worst- 
tempered  man  in  this  whole  country.  Look  at  that  sick 
horse  and  you  '11  see  how  he  treats  his  animals,  and  he 
don't  treat  his  wife  and  us  men  much  better.  He  's  going 
to  winter  on  a  claim  of  his  near  Dawson,  and  wants  me 
to  work  for  him  up  there,  but  I  don't  know  about  it. 
I  'd  never  have  started  with  him  if  I  'd  known  him.  He 
has  n't  paid  me  a  cent  of  wages  yet,  and  I  don't  believe 
he  intends  to." 

David  saw  that  he  had  a  friend  and  sympathizer  in 
Smith. 

"I  '11  tell  you  what  I  'm  going  to  do,"  said  he,  "pro 
vided  you  're  willing.  I  'm  going  to  sleep  in  the  tent 
to-night.  If  a  man  ever  owed  me  a  night's  lodging,  he  's 
the  man."  And  David  told  how  he  had  been  locked  out 
of  his  own  house,  and  cheated  out  of  his  rest. 

"Well,  well!"  exclaimed  Smith,  when  he  heard  the 
tale.  "I  just  wish  you  could  have  put  some  lead  into 
that  dog.  You  'd  have  been  perfectly  justified.  I  guess 
you  're  entitled  to  rather  more  than  a  night's  lodging.  If 
the  miserly  old  fellow  had  left  me  anything  to  eat,  I  'd 
see  that  you  had  a  good  supper  and  breakfast,  but  he 


304:     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

took  every  scrap  of  bacon  with  him,  and  I  've  only  flour 
and  coffee  to  live  on  till  he  gets  back." 

"I  've  a  pretty  good  chunk  of  bacon,  but  no  flour,"  said 
David.  "  We  'd  better  join  forces.  I  '11  contribute  the 
bacon  if  you'll  make  some  flapjacks." 

Smith  gladly  assented,  so  it  was  not  long  before  David 
was  eating  a  supper  partly  at  his  own,  but  largely  also  at 
the  disagreeable  packer's  expense.  Doubtless  because  it 
is  human  nature  to  enjoy  levying  a  just  tax  on  a  mean 
man,  he  swallowed  those  flapjacks  and  drank  that  coffee 
with  peculiar  zest. 

The  meal  was  no  sooner  finished  than  Smith  caught 
sight  of  the  truant  mule  on  a  distant  hillside  and  set  off 
to  capture  it,  while  David  spread  his  blankets  within  the 
tent  and  presently  turned  in.  He  slept  soundly  till 
broad  daylight,  when  he  awoke  with  a  start  and  found 
a  fat  ground-squirrel  sitting  comfortably  on  his  breast, 
and  eying  him  complacently.  It  ran  out  as  soon  as  he 
stirred,  and  then  amused '  itself  by  running  up  the  roof  of 
the  tent  on  one  side,  and  sliding  down  the  other.  Alto 
gether  it  was  the  most  lively  ground-squirrel  he  had 
seen. 

This  day  was  Sunday,  and  aside  from  the  principle  of 
the  thing,  David  would  have  liked  to  rest  on  account  of 
his  lameness,  but  circumstances  were  against  him.  It 
was  clearly  necessary  that  he  should  make  an  exception 
to  the  usual  rule  of  the  Bradfords,  and  travel  throughout 


HOW  DAVID   MET   THE   OFFENDER  305 

this  Sabbath.  Smith's  stock  of  food  was  running  as  low 
as  his  own.  Breakfast  over,  he  himself  had  only  a  piece 
of  jerked  beef  and  two  biscuits  for  a  luncheon.  His  only 
course  was  to  proceed. 

Smith  caught  and  saddled  the  poor  horse,  which  had 
been  a  fine  animal,  but  was  now  so  weak  with  over 
work,  starvation,  and  sickness  that  it  could  hardly  stand. 
David  mounted  with  misgivings  as  to  whether  the  totter 
ing  beast  had  strength  to  carry  him,  but  they  crossed  the 
ford  in  safety.  Dismounting  on  the  farther  bank,  he 
turned  the  horse  back  into  the  water,  and  headed  him  for 
the  point  where  Smith  was  standing;  then  shouting  his 
thanks  and  a  good-by,  he  limped  off  along  the  trail. 

Twenty  miles  on  a  foot  which  could  scarcely  bear  the 
touch  of  the  ground  I  He  set  his  teeth  hard  and  plodded 
on  until  the  pain  compelled  him  to  sit  down  for  a  brief 
rest.  Every  mile  was  earned  with  suffering.  All  day 
long  the  struggle  continued,  and  it  required  all  the  grit 
he  possessed  to  keep  him  going.  Not  a  person  did  he  see, 
though  he  caught  sight  of  several  horses  grazing,  and 
heard  distant  shouts  of  men  who  were  probably  searching 
for  them.  At  seven  in  the  evening  he  threw  himself  into 
Reitz's  camp  utterly  spent. 


20 


306     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

HOMEWABD  BOUND 

THE  condition  of  David's  foot  obliged  him  to 
remain  two  days  at  the  fishing-camp  with  Reitz 
and  Humphrey,  who  feasted  him  royally  on 
fresh-caught  salmon. 

Under  the  teaching  of  Reitz  he  soon  acquired  the 
knack  of  using  the  long  gaff,  tipped  with  an  iron  hook, 
with  which  the  fish  were  caught.  Standing  on  the 
bank  beside  one  of  the  deeper  pools  of  the  Klukshu 
River,  which  here  was  little  more  than  a  brook,  he 
would  poke  about  the  bottom  with  the  gaff  until  it 
struck  against  a  salmon,  when  by  a  quick  and  dexter 
ous  jerk  the  fish  would  be  hooked  and  drawn  up  out  of 
the  water.  Often  the  salmon  were  so  heavy  that  they 
had  to  be  dragged  out  rather  than  lifted,  for  fear  of 
breaking  the  pole. 

The  finest  variety  was  the  king  salmon,  very  large 
and  with  flesh  of  a  deep  pink  tint.  Then  there  was 
a  smaller  kind  whose  flesh  was  red.  Not  infrequently 
a  fish  was  caught  which,  in  its  long  journey  from  the 
sea,  had  been  bruised  and  gashed  on  the  sharp  rocks. 
Such  were  unfit  for  food,  but  the  healthy  salmon  were 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  307 

split  and  dressed  and  hung  upon  a  frame  of  poles  to 
dry,  a  smoky  fire  being  built  underneath  to  promote  the 
curing  and  keep  the  flies  from  laying  their  eggs  in 
the  meat. 

The  Stik  Indians  across  the  stream  caught  the  salmon 
not  only  with  the  gaff,  but  also  by  a  weir  of  poles 
which  they  constructed  in  the  brook.  In  this  trap  hun 
dreds  were  ensnared,  and  the  natives  were  able  to  take 
a  sufficient  number  to  supply  them  with  food  through 
out  the  winter  and  spring.  One  of  the  Indian  women 
in  this  family  was  noticeable  for  a  spike  of  wood  or 
bone  set  in  the  flesh  of  her  chin  by  way  of  ornament. 

On  the  third  day  David  proceeded  to  Moran's  Camp, 
accompanied  by  Humphrey,  who  carried  a  load  of  fresh 
salmon.  Almost  the  first  question  asked  of  him  there 
was,  "Where  are  Hovey  and  Herrick?" 

"Why,"  replied  David,  in  astonishment,  "I  supposed 
they  were  here  long  ago.  It 's  a  little  over  two  weeks 
since  they  left  Champlain's  Landing  in  the  boat." 

This  intelligence  caused  a  flutter  of  alarm  in  the 
camp  of  the  Thirty-six,  and  a  searching  party  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  despatched  on  the  following  day 
had  not  the  missing  men  turned  up  that  evening, 
weather-browned  and  hungry,  with  a  remarkable  tale  of 
obstacles  encountered  and  overcome.  They  had  been 
several  days  in  forcing  their  heavy  boat  up  the  river 
to  the  lake,  and  there  they  had  met  with  such  con- 


308     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

tinuous  head-winds  and  rough  water  that  progress  had 
been  difficult  and  dangerous,  —  often,  indeed,  impossible. 
They  had  camped  for  days  upon  the  shore  with  little 
to  eat,  waiting  for  a  chance  to  proceed,  and  were  almost 
despairing  when  the  wind  providentially  changed. 

"  Hurrah !  "  shouted  Roly,  when  David  appeared  on 
Alder  Creek.  "  You  're  just  in  time,  Dave.  Now  we 
can  go  out  with  the  next  pack  train." 

David  failed  to  grasp  his  enthusiastic  brother's  mean 
ing  until  later,  for  he  was  immediately  surrounded  and 
made  to  sit  down  and  relate  all  his  adventures  up  to 
that  moment.  This  done,  he  begged  Roly  for  an  expla 
nation  of  his  remark  about  going  out. 

"Why,"  said  Roly,  delightedly,  "we're  all  ready  to 
start  for  home.  Father  or  Uncle  Will  can  tell  you 
more  about  the  reasons."  The  boy  seemed  as  eager  to 
go  out  of  the  country  as  he  had  once  been  to  come 
into  it. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Bradford,  corroboratively,  "  the  leader 
of  the  Thirty-six  wished  to  control  the  whole  of  the 
river  and  its  tributary  creeks,  and  instructed  Mr.  Scott, 
his  second  in  command,  to  make  us  an  offer  for  our 
claims.  We  thought  the  offer  a  fair  one,  and  as  we 
can  not  well  winter  here  nor  look  after  our  claims  an 
other  season,  we  have  accepted  his  price." 

"Good!"  said  David.     "I'm  glad  to  hear  it." 

Uncle  Will  added  that  they  had   made  arrangements 


HOMEWARD   BOUND  309 

to  accompany  the  next  pack  train  of  the  Thirty-six 
when  it  returned  to  the  coast. 

"Do  you  mean  that  we  shall  ride  out  on  horses?" 
asked  David,  incredulously.  The  thought  of  such  luxu 
rious  travelling  after  his  recent  hardships  surpassed  his 
wildest  dreams. 

"  No,"  answered  his  uncle.  "  The  horses  will  carry 
our  loads,  but  it  is  n't  likely  we  shall  ride  except  in 
fording  the  rivers.  I  understand  it 's  extremely  perilous 
to  try  to  cross  the  Alsek,  the  Klaheena,  and  the  Salmon 
rivers  without  horses,  and  several  men  have  been 
drowned  this  season  in  the  attempt.  Even  horses  are 
sometimes  swept  away.  You  must  know  that  in  sum 
mer  these  streams,  fed  by  the  melting  ice  and  snow  in 
the  mountains,  become  swift,  muddy  torrents  of  far 
greater  depth  and  force  than  in  the  winter.  Streams 
which  a  boy  could  wade  last  March  would  now  give  an 
elephant  a  tussle.  It's  most  fortunate  that  we  can 
have  the  use  of  the  pack  train." 

Two  days  later,  on  the  fifth  of  August,  word  came 
that  the  horses  had  arrived  at  Moran's  and  would  leave 
there  the  following  evening  on  their  return.  Several  of 
the  animals  were  brought  up  to  Alder  Creek  and  loaded 
with  the  goods  of  the  Bradfords,  who  of  course  had 
very  little  to  carry  out,  compared  with  what  they  had 
brought  in,  since  their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted 
and  they  were  to  leave  their  tools  and  surplus  goods 


310     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

of  all  kinds  with  the  Thirty-six.  Lucky  and  Coffee 
Jack  were  also  to  be  left  behind  in  the  employment  of 
the  larger  party. 

On  their  way  down  the  river  the  Bradfords  paused 
at  the  tent  of  the  scurvy-stricken  Tom  Moore  to  leave 
him  some  delicacies  and  wish  him  a  speedy  recovery. 
Here  also  they  exchanged  farewells  with  King  and 
Baldwin. 

Not  far  above  Moran's  Camp  David  discovered  a  gray 
boulder  thickly  studded  with  fossil  trilobites,  which  he 
would  have  liked  to  present  to  the  museum  at  home, 
but  its  great  weight  made  its  removal  impossible. 

Having  taken  leave  of  the  Thirty-six,  and  of  Lucky 
and  Coffee  Jack,  who  had  served  them  so  long  and 
faithfully,  the  Bradfords  followed  the  horses  to  the 
valley  below,  where  they  were  to  spend  the  night. 

The  pack  train  was  in  charge  of  a  tall,  lean,  brown- 
whiskered  man  known  as  Bud  Beagle,  and  two  assistant 
packers,  one  of  whom,  a  big,  thick-set,  good-natured 
Missourian,  went  by  the  name  of  Phil.  The  other,  a 
gray-haired  man  named  Joyce,  had  once  kept  a  book 
store  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States,  and  now,  after  a 
life  of  varied  fortunes,  found  himself  a  packer  and 
cook  on  the  Dalton  trail. 

Phil  made  an  important  find  soon  after  the  camping- 
place  was  reached.  He  came  upon  some  bushes  loaded 
with  ripe  red  currants  not  far  below  the  mouth  of  the 


HOMEWARD   BOUND  311 

gorge,  and,  having  gathered  a  heaping  panful,  brought 
them  to  Joyce,  who  gladly  set  about  making  some  cur 
rant  preserve  in  the  most  approved  style.  He  boiled 
the  currants  over  a  hot  fire,  added  an  extravagant  amount 
of  sugar,  and  at  length  produced  the  most  delicious 
mixture  imaginable. 

As  the  night  was  fair,  no  tents  were  pitched.  The 
blankets  were  spread  on  the  grass  under  the  open  sky, 
and  the  party  would  have  spent  a  comfortable  night  had 
not  the  weather  turned  frosty.  So  cold  was  it  that  a 
skim  of  ice  formed  in  a  pail  of  water  which  was  left 
uncovered. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Bud,  addressing  the  elder  Brad- 
fords  at  breakfast,  "if  you  take  my  advice,  you'll  start 
right  away  as  soon  as  you  've  finished.  It  '11  take  us 
an  hour  or  two  to  round  up  and  load  the  horses,  but 
there 's  no  need  for  you  to  wait.  It 's  close  on  to 
thirty  mile  to  Dalton's,  and  it  would  be  late  afore 
you  got  there  if  you  was  to  start  right  now." 

Accordingly,  the  Bradfords  were  on  the  march  before 
eight  o'clock.  They  paused  for  a  salmon  dinner  at 
Reitz's  camp,  where  the  pack  train  overtook  and  passed 
them,  then  plodded  on  again.  It  was  the  longest  day's 
march  in  their  experience,  and  without  special  incident 
save  the  meeting  with  a  large  herd  of  cattle  and  a 
flock  of  sheep  bound  for  Dawson. 

Near  the  trading-post  a  party  of  mounted  police  were 


312     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

building  a  cabin.  They  hospitably  invited  the  tired 
four  in  to  supper,  treating  them  to  roast  mutton,  for 
which  the  recently  passing  flock  had  evidently  been 
laid  under  contribution.  During  the  meal  Mr.  Bratnober 
strolled  in  and  entertained  them  with  an  account  of  a 
long  journey  to  the  headwaters  of  White  River,  from 
which  he  had  just  returned.  He  had  been  accom 
panied  by  Jack  Dalton  and  a  tall  native  called  Indian 
Jack.  Their  object  had  been  to  find  copper,  and  they 
had  been  successful.  Mr.  Bratnober  exhibited  several 
rough  slabs  of  the  pure  metal  as  big  as  a  man's  hand, 
and  said  that  he  had  brought  back  about  thirty  pounds 
of  it,  and  could  have  picked  up  tons  if  there  had  been 
means  to  carry  it.  He  naturally  would  not  tell  the  ex 
act  locality  where  these  riches  were  discovered,  but 
said  it  was  in  a  region  never  before  explored  by  white 
men.  They  had  not  remained  in  the  copper  district  as 
long  as  they  had  wished  to  do,  because  of  a  band  of 
Indians,  armed  only  with  bows  and  arrows,  who  had 
made  hostile  demonstrations. 

From  the  police  the  Bradfords  learned  that  Dalton's 
store  had  been  robbed  of  several  thousand  dollars  a 
few  days  before,  while  Ike  Martin  was  temporarily 
absent,  and  that  about  the  same  time  two  prospectors 
had  been  held  up  by  highwaymen  on  the  trail  and 
relieved  of  considerable  gold  dust.  Search  was  being 
made  for  the  robbers,  who  were  supposed  to  be  two 


HOMEWARD  BOUND  313 

tough-looking  characters  who  had  been  seen  around  the 
premises,  and  Ike  Martin  had  started  for  Pyramid  Har 
bor  to  put  the  authorities  there  on  the  watch.  Ike, 
imprudently,  as  the  police  thought,  had  taken  quite  a 
sum  of  his  own  money  with  him,  which  he  purposed  to 
send  to  a  Seattle  bank. 

"  Have  you  any  idea  who  the  robbers  are  ?,"  asked 
Uncle  Will  of  the  police  captain. 

"Yes,"  replied  that  officer;  "we  think  they  are  two 
of  '  Soapy '  Smith's  gang.  The  suspicious  characters 
seen  here  answered  the  description  of  two  of  '  Soapy V 
men." 

"  And  who  is  '  Soapy '  Smith  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Bradford, 
who  had  heard  the  name,  but  could  not  recall  in  what 
connection. 

"Why,"  explained  the  officer,  "he's  that  chap  who 
organized  a  gang  of  toughs  at  Skagway  last  winter  and 
terrorized  the  place.  Finally  he  insulted  the  wrong 
man,  and  received  a  quieting  dose  of  lead ;  after  which 
the  citizens  drove  his  followers  out  of  town,  and  they 
scattered  over  the  various  trails." 

Uncle  Will  said  nothing,  but  the  boys  noticed  that 
he  puffed  with  unwonted  vigor  on  his  pipe  and  seemed 
to  be  thinking  deeply.  He  was,  indeed,  thinking  that  it 
would  be  a  serious  matter  to  encounter  those  two 
desperadoes  in  a  lonely  part  of  the  trail. 


314     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

A  CAKIBOU,   AND  HOW  IT  WAS  KILLED 

A  DAY    was  spent  at  Dalton's,  as   it    was   found 
that  several  horses  needed  shoeing,  but  the  fol 
lowing  morning  the  pack  train  forded  the  Alsek 
and  clattered  off  along  the   trail,   while   the   Bradfords 
were    ferried   over   the   swift   stream   by  a  Stik   Indian 
in  a  dug-out,  —  a  canoe  which  consists  of  the  trunk  of 
a  single  large  tree  hollowed  by  fire  and  the  axe. 

The  trail  led  through  the  woods,  and  Mr.  Bradford 
and  Uncle  Will  agreed  that  in  such  a  region  the  little 
party  of  four  should  keep  together,  since  the  two  rob 
bers,  if  they  were  concealed  anywhere  in  the  neighbor 
hood  and  still  had  lawless  intentions,  would  hesitate  to 
waylay  and  attack  an  armed  party  of  twice  their 
numbers.  The  three  packers  were  also  well  armed. 

The  forest  was  left  behind  at  noon,  and  they  gladly 
ascended  to  the  top  of  a  range  of  treeless  uplands 
where  there  was  no  cover  for  an  enemy.  Here  a 
small  pack  train  of  oxen  and  horses,  in  charge  of  five 
or  six  New  Englanders,  was  met.  They  had  seen  no 
suspicious  persons  since  leaving  Pyramid  Harbor.  When 
questioned  about  the  fords  of  the  Klaheena  and  Salmon 


A   CARIBOU,   AND  HOW  IT  WAS  KILLED     315 

rivers,  the  travellers  laughed  and  pointed  to  one  of 
their  number  whom  they  called  Mr.  Green,  as  being 
most  likely  to  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  his  ex 
perience. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Green,  good-humoredly,  "  I  shall  not 
soon  forget  the  ford  of  the  Klaheena.  You  see,  our 
pack  animals  are  loaded  down  with  about  all  they  can 
carry,  and  I  'm  no  feather-weight.  Consequently,  instead 
of  mounting  one  of  the  already  overburdened  beasts,  I 
crossed  the  two  fords  of  the  Salmon  River  by  wad 
ing.  The  water  was  cold,  but  I  didn't  mind  the  wet 
ting  much,  and  took  the  precaution  to  hold  fast  to  the 
tail  of  the  largest  ox.  This  plan  succeeded  so  well  at 
the  first  two  fords  that  when  we  reached  the  Klaheena 
I  felt  no  hesitancy  about  crossing  in  the  same  manner. 
I  stripped  off  most  of  my  clothing,  took  a  firm  hold 
of  the  tail  of  the  big  ox,  and  we  started. 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  if  you  've  ever  seen  a  pickerel 
spoon  whirl  round  and  round  when  it's  dragged  behind 
a  boat,  you  will  have  some  idea  of  the  motions  I 
described  when  I  struck  that  deep  and  rushing  current. 
I  was  off  my  feet  in  a  twinkling  and  thrashing  about 
in  the  wildest  manner  imaginable ;  and  if  I  had  n't 
gripped  the  tail  of  that  ox  with  the  strength  of  des 
peration,  I  should  n't  be  here  to  tell  about  it.  Even  the 
ox  was  forced  down  the  stream  quite  a  distance,  but 
his  heavy  load  enabled  him  to  keep  his  feet,  and  he 


316     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

hauled  me  out  at  last  on  the  opposite  bank,  more  scared 
than  hurt.  But  next  time,  gentlemen,  I'm  going  to 
ride." 

Mr.  Green's  droll  recital  was  listened  to  with  much 
amusement.  He  now  wiped  from  his  brow  the  perspira 
tion  which  his  exciting  reminiscences  had  induced,  and 
added  a  last  item  of  advice. 

"My  friends,"  said  he,  with  a  serio-comic  expression 
on  his  round  face,  "don't  you  try  swimming,  either. 
We  saw  a  young  fellow  do  that,  and  —  I  swan !  if  he 
did  n't  go  down-stream  like  a  chip.  He  would  reach  the 
shore  time  and  again  and  try  to  get  hold  of  something, 
but  there  was  nothing  but  loose  gravel,  and  it  gave  way 
as  soon  as  he  touched  it,  and  away  the  current  would 
hustle  him.  It  kept  that  fellow  moving  for  a  mile,  and 
he  might  be  going  yet  if  he  hadn't  been  washed  up 
on  a  gravel  bar." 

These  tales  of  the  dread  Klaheena  were  anything  but 
reassuring  to  the  Bradfords;  and  in  the  imagination 
of  the  boys  that  river  began  to  assume  the  form  of  a 
ravening  monster.  What  with  mountain  torrents  and 
highwaymen,  they  felt  that  they  would  be  the  most 
fortunate  of  mortals  if  they  reached  the  coast  in 
safety.  They  discovered,  as  many  a  brave  man  has 
done,  that  the  terrors  of  anticipation  are  often  far  more 
unnerving  than  a  real  and  present  danger. 

About  the   middle  of  the  afternoon    they  crossed  two 


A   CARIBOU,   AND   HOW  IT  WAS   KILLED     317 

deep  ravines,  each  the  bed  of  a  noisy  brook,  and 
soon  afterward  found  themselves  on  the  highest  ridge 
of  the  bleak  uplands.  It  was  not  thought  necessary 
here  to  keep  together,  and  Uncle  Will  and  Holy  were 
fully  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  advance  of  Mr.  Bradford 
and  David,  who  had  paused  to  make  pannings  at  the 
streams  in  the  ravines. 

"  Keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  our  pack  train,"  cautioned 
Uncle  Will.  "I  think  they've  camped  somewhere 
here,  and  we  don't  want  to  miss  them." 

As  he  spoke,  he  and  Roly  were  approaching  the 
crest  of  a  low  hill.  Suddenly  Uncle  Will,  who  was 
leading,  stopped,  then  threw  himself  at  full  length  on 
the  ground. 

"  Down,  Roly,  quick ! "  he  whispered.  "  There 's  a 
caribou  coming.  Don't  make  a  sound." 

Roly  dropped  instantly,  and  the  two  lay  there,  quiet 
but  excited,  gazing  at  the  crest  of  'the  hill  not  more 
than  forty  feet  ahead,  Uncle  Will  meantime  drawing 
his  revolver.  Roly  had  no  weapon  but  his  knife,  and 
the  only  kind  of  a  shot  he  could  take  was  a  snap 
shot,  —  for  he  happened  to  be  carrying  David's  camera. 
Even  that  might  not  be  possible,  for  the  sun  was 
almost  in  line  with  the  game. 

Fortunately  the  wind  was  blowing  from  the  caribou's 
direction,  and  without  scenting  danger  he  trotted 
briskly  along  the  trail.  After  a  moment  of  thrilling 


318     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

suspense  the  two  watchers  saw  first  his  antlers  and  then 
his  head  and  body  rise  above  the  sky-line,  until  the 
magnificent  animal  stood  full  in  view.  He  paused  an 
instant  as  if  to  reconnoitre,  which  gave  Uncle  Will 
his  opportunity.  The  report  of  the  revolver  rang  out 
sharply. 

The  caribou  started,  looked  about  without  seeming 
to  discover  the  two  crouching  figures,  then  circled 
slowly  off  to  the  right  as  if  to  get  the  scent  from 
the  point  of  danger.  Uncle  Will  fired  again  and  with 
better  effect,  for  the  caribou  stopped  and  wavered. 
Meanwhile  Roly,  camera  in  hand,  was  manoeuvring 
for  a  position  from  which  he  could  take  a  picture. 
Before  he  had  succeeded,  a  third  shot  brought  the 
caribou  to  his  knees.  He  rose,  struggled  forward  a 
step  or  two,  then  sank  never  to  rise  again.  All  three 
bullets  had  struck  him,  and  it  was  found  that  the 
first,  which  appeared  to  have  so  little  effect,  had  gone 
clear  through  his  body,  from  front  to  rear. 

"  We  've  got  him !  "  exclaimed  Uncle  Will,  delightedly, 
as  he  ran  toward  the  fallen  game.  "It's  queer  for  an 
old  hunter  like  me  to  have  buck  fever,  but  I  had  it 
that  time.  Did  you  see  my  hand  tremble,  Roly? 
Didn't  think  I  could  hit  the  side  of  a  house.  Did 
you  get  the  picture?" 

"No,"  said  Roly,  "not  the  one  I  wanted.  The  sun 
was  right  behind  him."  ' 


A  CARIBOU,    AND   HOW  IT  WAS   KILLED     319 

Shouts  were  now  heard,  and  three  men  and  a  horse 
were  seen  approaching,  while  some  distance  behind 
them  in  a  cloud  of  dust  galloped  a  party  of  mounted 
men.  They  all  arrived  on  the  scene  together.  The 
mounted  men  proved  to  be  a  squad  of  police  in  charge 
of  a  sergeant  and  accompanied  by  Jack  Dalton  and  an 
Indian,  all  bound  for  Pleasant  Camp;  while  the  three 
men  on  foot  were  Mr.  Bradford,  David,  and  Phil. 
The  new-comers  gathered  around  the  caribou  and  plied 
the  successful  hunters  with  questions. 

"You  went  clean  by  our  camp,"  said  Phil.  "Didn't 
you  see  the  horses  off  to  the  left  of  the  trail  about 
half  a  mile  back?" 

"No,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "and  we  looked  out  for 
them  too." 

"  I  saw  you  go  by,"  continued  Phil,  "  and  shouted, 
and  when  you  did  n't  seem  to  hear  I  started  after  you. 
Then  I  heard  your  shots  and  saw  the  caribou,  and 
concluded  you  had  gone  ahead  because  you  had  seen 
the  game,  so  I  went  back  for  a  horse." 

Uncle  Will  and  Phil  set  to  work  to  cut  up  the 
carcass,  first  removing  the  hide,  which  the  former 
wished  to  preserve.  A  generous  portion  of  the  meat 
was  given  to  Dalton  and  the  police,  who  had  always 
shown  unfailing  hospitality  to  the  Bradfords ;  while  the 
Indian  received  permission  to  take  certain  sinews  and 
cords  which  are  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  the  native 


320     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

snow-shoes.  The  remainder  of  the  dressed  carcass  was 
placed  upon  Phil's  horse  and  taken  back  to  the 
camp,  where  the  cook  took  charge  of  it  with  much 
rejoicing. 

"  Venison ! "  exclaimed  the  old  man,  again  and  again, 
as  if  it  were  too  good  to  be  true.  "  No  more  bacon  for 
the  rest  of  this  trip !  Now  we  '11  live  like  kings ! " 


DANGERS   OF  THE   SUMMER  FORDS          321 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

DANGERS   OF   THE    SUMMER    FOEDS 

TWO  more  days  were  occupied  in  ascending  the 
valley  of  the  Alsek  to  its  headwaters.  The 
trail  crossed  many  tributary  streams,  through 
which  our  pedestrians  were  obliged  to  wade,  and  twice 
it  was  necessary  to  cross  the  Alsek  itself.  Although 
the  stream  was  here  much  narrower  and  shallower  than 
at  Dalton's  Post,  its  current  was  still  so  turbulent  that 
on  each  occasion  the  Bradfords  took  advantage  of  the 
pack  train.  Not  infrequently  they  saw  the  bodies  of 
horses  and  cattle  which  had  either  become  hopelessly 
mired  or  had  broken  a  leg  among  the  rocks,  and  been 
shot  and  abandoned  by  their  owners. 

Beyond  Rainy  Hollow  the  summer  trail  was  quite  in 
dependent  of  the  winter  one,  and  led  across  a  bleak 
summit  now  devoid  of  snow  save  the  grimy  remains  of 
a  few  old  drifts.  Here  they  were  startled  by  a  sudden 
deep  booming  and  thundering  which  seemed  to  proceed 
from  nowhere  in  particular.  The  boys  thought  it  an 
earthquake,  but  Uncle  Will  said  he  had  no  doubt  the 
noise  was  similar  to  those  they  had  heard  in  that  vi 
cinity  in  March,  and  was  occasioned  by  a  tremendous 

21 


322     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

avalanche  or  the  disintegration  of  a  glacier  on  the  lofty 
peaks  across  the  Klaheena. 

On  the  highest  point  of  the  pass  they  met  an  inbound 
pack  train  belonging  to  the  Thirty-six,  in  charge  of  one 
Paddock. 

"Is  this  the  Bradford  party?"  asked  Paddock,  as  he 
came  up.  On  being  assured  that  it  was,  he  continued, 
"I  was  on  the  lookout  for  you.  I  met  Bud  Beagle's 
outfit  about  an  hour  ago,  and  he  said  you  was  close  be 
hind.  I've  got  some  mail  for  you." 

He  fumbled  in  an  inner  pocket  of  his  coat,  which 
was  tied  to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  presently  ex 
tracted  a  little  bundle  of  letters,  which  he  handed  to 
Mr.  Bradford. 

"Mebbe  there  ought  to  be  more,"  he  said  with  a 
trace  of  embarrassment,  "  but  the  fact  is,  we  lost  a  hoss 
in  the  Klaheena  River.  He  carried  one  o'  the  mail- 
bags,  besides  all  our  cooking  outfit  and  consid'rable 
provisions." 

"Lost  the  horse?"  said  Mr.  Bradford.  "How  did 
that  happen?" 

"Well,  you  see,  sir,"  explained  Paddock,  "that  hoss 
got  sep'rated  from  the  others  when  we  crossed  the  river, 
and  he  struck  a  deep  hole.  His  load  was  jest  heavy 
enough  so  he  couldn't  swim,  and  away  he  went.  We 
follered  along  the  bank  for  two  good  miles,  but  didn't 
find  him." 


DANGERS   OF  THE   SUMMER  FORDS  323 

After  eagerly  reading  their  letters,  they  descended 
the  steep  mountain-side  and  soon  found  themselves  at 
Pleasant  Camp,  where  they  discovered  that  the  mounted 
police  had  built  two  snug  log  cabins  with  real  shingled 
roofs,  and  a  corral  for  horses ;  and  a  roving  sutler  had 
set  up  a  store-tent  where  one  could  buy  almost  any 
thing,  though  the  articles  most  in  evidence  were  bad 
cigars  and  "tanglefoot"  whiskey. 

This  being  the  boundary  station  of  the  police,  they 
recorded  the  names  of  the  Bradfords  and  the  packers, 
the  number  of  horses  in  the  train,  and  various  other 
items.  Since  the  establishment  of  the  station  all  in 
coming  travellers  had  been  obliged  to  pay  customs  duties 
at  this  point. 

There  was  one  person  at  Pleasant  Camp  whose  arrival 
a  few  days  before  had  awakened  no  little  curiosity. 
This  was  a  young  woman  introduced  to  the  Brad- 
fords  by  the  police  sergeant  as  Miss  Macintosh.  She 
appeared  to  possess  a  fun-loving,  yet  quiet  and  lady 
like  disposition,  while  her  flashing  black  eyes  revealed 
unusual  determination  and  spirit.  She  was  travelling 
independently,  with  saddle  horse  and  pack  horse,  with 
the  object  of  reaching  Dawson  City;  but  her  progress 
had  been  so  slow  and  the  season  was  so  far  advanced 
that  she  had  abandoned  her  original  idea,  and  was  now 
intent  only  on  reaching  Dal  ton's  Post.  Owing  to  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  way,  she  had  found  it  ad- 


324     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

visable  to  travel  in  company  with  pack  trains  or  the 
police,  and  intended  to  proceed  with  the  next  inbound 
party.  She  had  many  questions  to  ask  about  gold-min 
ing  and  the  Klondike,  which  gave  Uncle  Will  the  clue 
to  the  business  upon  which  she  was  engaged. 

" '  I  know  the  breed,'  as  Kipling  says,"  declared  Uncle 
Will.  "  I  used  to  be  a  reporter  myself,  and  I  '11  wager 
Miss  Macintosh  is  performing  this  feat  in  the  interests 
of  some  newspaper.  She's  going  to  write  all  about  it 
when  she  gets  home." 

"  It 's  a  foolhardy  adventure,  though,"  said  Mr.  Brad 
ford.  "  I  should  have  looked  for  more  Scottish  caution 
in  the  girl." 

"  On  the  contrary,  Charles,  I  think  she 's  to  be  admired 
for  her  pluck.  She  believes  a  self-respecting  woman 
may  go  anywhere  without  fear,  and  if  she  travels  with 
pack  trains  or  the  police,  so  as  not  to  meet  rascals  like 
those  robbers,  I  'm  sure  her  confidence  will  be  vindi 
cated.  Miners  and  soldiers  and  packers  may  be  rough, 
but  they  all  respect  a  lady." 

The  Bradfords  began  the  descent  of  the  Klaheena  val 
ley  on  the  following  morning,  keeping  to  the  hillsides  on 
the  left  through  forests  far  more  varied  than  those  of  the 
interior.  This  part  of  the  trail  had  been  extensively  im 
proved  by  men  in  Dalton's  employ,  and  in  place  of  the 
narrow  and  uneven  path  over  which  they  had  picked 
their  way,  they  now  gloried  in  a  smooth,  hard  trail  al- 


DANGERS   OF  THE   SUMMER  FORDS          325 

most  wide  enough  for  a  wagon.  Hills  had  been  cut 
through,  hollows  filled  in,  small  bridges  thrown  across 
several  of  the  brooks,  and  corduroys  of  logs  laid  through 
every  swamp. 

At  length  they  came  down  to  the  gravel  flats  and  be 
held,  some  distance  below,  Bud  Beagle  and  Phil  sitting 
on  a  log  and  evidently  awaiting  their  appearance.  Two 
saddle  horses  stood  near.  They  had  reached  the  dreaded 
ford  of  the  Klaheena. 

"We  thought  you  wouldn't  care  to  wade  this  here 
river,"  said  Bud,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  as  the  four 
approached. 

"Right,  Bud,"  responded  Uncle  Will;  "your  think 
ing  apparatus  is  in  perfect  order.  I  trust  you  got  the 
pack  train  over  safely.'* 

"Well,"  said  Bud,  slipping  his  quid  into  the  other 
cheek,  "I  don't  see  no  drownded  horses  anywhere." 

With  this  reassuring  remark  he  mounted,  and  invited 
David  to  climb  up  behind  him  and  clasp  him  tightly 
about  the  body,  —  a  performance  which  required  some 
agility,  owing  to  the  restiveness  of  the  horse.  Mean 
while  Roly  had  scrambled  upon  the  other  prancing  steed 
behind  Phil,  and  off  they  started,  Mr.  Bradford  and 
Uncle  Will  watching  their  progress  intently.  Several 
side  channels  not  more  than  a  foot  in  depth  were  crossed 
before  the  main  river  was  reached,  but  presently  the 
horses  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  mighty  flood. 


326     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

The  stream  was  not  more  than  two  hundred  feet  wide, 
but  it  filled  its  gravelly  banks  to  the  very  brim  with  an 
impetuous  current  so  impregnated  with  glacial  silt  that 
it  looked  like  a  mixture  of  coffee  and  milk.  It  was  im 
possible  for  the  eye  to  penetrate  much  more  than  an  inch 
beneath  the  surface,  and  as  the  horses  stepped  cautiously 
over  the  crumbling  bank  the  boys  had  no  idea  how  deep 
they  would  go. 

The  water  proved  to  be  shallow  at  first,  rising  only  to 
the  knees,  but  a  moment  later  the  bottom  shelved  ab 
ruptly  down,  the  current  surging  higher  and  higher  on 
the  animals'  sides  till  they  began  to  yield  before  it,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  head  them  up-stream  a  little. 
They  stepped  slowly  and  carefully,  picking  their  footing, 
yet  now  and  then  stumbling  on  some  unseen  boulder. 
The  nearness  of  the  rushing  water  made  the  boys  fairly 
dizzy.  But  just  when  it  seemed  as  if  they  must  be 
overwhelmed,  the  river  grew  shallower,  and  soon,  with 
much  scrambling,  they  mounted  the  bank. 

"  That  was  n't  so  bad,  after  all,"  said  Roly,  as  he  slipped 
to  the  ground. 

"No,"  said  David,  "it's  easy  enough  on  horseback, 
but  no  wonder  Mr.  Green  performed  gymnastics ! " 
And  the  nervous  tension  being  now  relaxed,  they 
laughed  heartily  at  the  recollection. 

Bud  and  Phil  turned  back  and  brought  over  Mr. 
Bradford  and  Uncle  Will. 


DANGERS   OF   THE   SUMMER  FORDS          327 

"The  worst  o'  these  fords,"  said  Bud,  as  he  landed 
his  second  passenger,  "is  that  the  river-beds  are  all  the 
while  changing.  We  may  hit  on  a  good  place  like  this, 
one  day,  and  the  next  time  we  try  it  we  '11  slump  into  a 
hole  that'll  raise  the  mischief.  The  bottom  drops  out 
in  a  single  night." 

In  the  next  few  miles  the  trail  crossed  the  watershed 
separating  the  valley  of  the  Klaheena  from  that  of  the 
Salmon  River,  and  near  the  latter,  camp  was  pitched  for 
the  night.  On  the  march  thither  the  horses  were  almost 
thrown  into  a  panic  by  a  bear  which  went  crashing  off 
into  the  bushes  near  the  trail,  but  so  precipitately  that 
no  one  was  able  to  take  a  shot. 

The  two  fords  of  the  Salmon  River  were  essayed  next 
morning.  The  first  was  for  some  distance  of  the  same 
general  character  as  that  of  the  Klaheena,  but  it  was 
necessary  to  ride  with  the  stream  a  few  hundred  feet 
to  round  the  base  of  a  high  cliff.  Near  these  crags  the 
water  became  so  deep  that  it  nearly  covered  the  backs 
of  the  horses,  but  fortunately  at  that  point  the  current 
slackened. 

The  second  ford  was  reached  soon  afterward.  This 
was  not  a  crossing ;  the  horses  were  forced  to  take  to  the 
river-bed  because,  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  no  trail  had 
yet  been  cut  through  the  dense  thickets  of  the  shore. 
Here  at  last  our  travellers  were  destined  to  experience 
the  treachery  of  an  Alaskan  river. 


328     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

At  Uncle  Will's  suggestion  they  did  not  mount  behind 
the  riders  as  before,  but  climbed  upon  the  backs  of  those 
pack  horses  which  carried  the  lightest  loads.  These 
horses  had  no  bridles,  but  as  they  always  willingly  fol 
lowed  the  packers,  no  trouble  was  anticipated.  All  being 
ready,  Bud,  Phil,  and  Joyce  rode  into  the  stream  with  the 
whole  bunch  close  behind. 

At  first  the  river  divided  into  so  many  channels  that 
none  were  deep,  and  the  cavalcade  proceeded  merrily 
down  the  valley,  now  high  and  dry  upon  the  gravel,  now 
wading  a  muddy  runlet.  The  packers  came  at  length 
to  the  point  where  they  were  to  turn  back  toward  the 
shore.  There  remained  but  one  stream  to  cross,  but  it 
was  a  very  considerable  one,  formed  by  the  reunion  of 
several  channels.  Beyond  it  rose  the  steep,  curving 
bank,  on  which  the  trail  was  corduroyed  to  the  water's 
edge. 

As  the  packers  had  experienced  no  difficulty  here  on 
their  previous  passage,  they  rode  confidently  into  the 
water,  heading  for  the  trail.  Before  they  were  half 
way  across  they  found  that  the  stream  had  deepened; 
and  as  they  neared  the  shore,  first  Joyce's  little  white 
mare  and  then  both  the  other  horses  were  carried  off  their 
feet  and  compelled  to  swim,  while  the  rapid  current  hur 
ried  them  all  down-stream. 

"  Stop ! "  shouted  Bud  to  the  Bradfords,  as  soon  as  he 
realized  the  danger.  "  Don't  try  it  there  ! " 


DANGERS   OF  THE   SUMMER  FORDS          329 

But  the  warning  came  too  late.  The  pack  horses,  with 
one  impulse,  had  entered  the  water  close  behind  their 
leaders,  and  among  the  rest  those  bearing  the  Bradfords, 
who  had  no  effectual  means  of  checking  their  steeds  or 
guiding  them.  In  two  minutes  every  horse  in  the  train 
had  gone  beyond  his  depth  and  was  snorting  and  flounder 
ing  in  the  current,  or  vainly  trying  to  gain  a  foothold  on 
the  steep  bank,  while  some  of  the  more  heavily  laden 
ones,  including  those  to  which  the  Bradfords  were  cling 
ing,  borne  down  by  their  loads  and  the  pressure  of  their 
neighbors,  sank  beneath  the  surface  more  than  once.  Sev 
eral  became  entangled  in  submerged  tree-roots,  but  cleared 
themselves.  The  whole  mass  of  frightened,  splashing, 
struggling  animals  was  presently  going  down  the  stream 
as  the  steeds  of  the  packers  had  done.  In  the  midst  of 
this  confusion  the  Bradfords,  drenched  and  helpless, 
could  only  hang  desperately  to  ropes  and  packs,  holding 
themselves  ready,  however,  at  a  moment's  notice,  to  aban 
don  the  horses  and  swim  out  independently. 

In  the  mean  time  the  packers  by  shouts  and  kicks  had 
urged  their  animals  close  to  the  shore,  where  they  suc 
ceeded  in  dismounting,  and  then  pulled  the  exhausted 
beasts  out  of  the  water  almost  by  main  strength.  This 
done,  they  turned  their  attention  to  the  pack  horses, 
grasping  the  heads  of  all  which  came  near,  and  guiding 
them  down  to  a  point  where  the  bank  was  lower.  Some 
of  them  struggled  out  unaided,  and  all  were  at  last 


330     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

brought  safely  to  the  solid  ground.     But  blankets,  packs, 
and  men  were  thoroughly  soaked. 

"  Speakin'  of  the  bottom  droppin'  out,"  said  Bud,  with  a 
dry  smile,  —  the  only  dry  thing  which  remained  to  him,  — 
"  this  was  one  o'  them  cases." 


SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN  331 


CHAPTER  XL 

SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN 

THE   Salmon  River  was  crossed  on  Sunday,  the 
packers  wishing  to  reach  a  good  feeding-ground 
in  the  woods  two  miles  below  the  Indian  village 
of  Klukwan,  and  not  more  than  ten   miles   below  their 
previous   camping-place.      This   short  march  was  accom 
plished  before   noon,   and  by   dinner-time   clothing   and 
blankets  had  been  dried  before  a  huge  fire. 

The  boys  thought  a  visit  to  Klukwan  that  afternoon 
would  pass  the  time  agreeably,  so  having  obtained  per 
mission  they  set  off  through  the  woods  toward  the  gravel 
flats.  They  had  some  doubts  as  to  how  they  should  cross 
the  Chilkat  River,  but  upon  reaching  the  first  channel  of 
that  deep  stream  they  found  themselves  within  hailing 
distance  of  the  town,  and  easily  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  red-skinned  inhabitants,  who  promptly  despatched 
two  canoes  in  their  direction.  One  was  manned  by  a 
thin  old  native  whom  they  had  never  seen  before,  while 
the  navigator  of  the  other  proved  to  be  a  short,  thick-set 
young  Indian  known  as  Tom  Williams,  who  had  been 
a  guide  to  the  Mysterious  Thirty-six.  Tom  recognized 
the  two  lads  also  and  appeared  glad  to  see  them.  He 


332     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

was  a  convert  of  Haines  Mission,  and  could  talk  fair 
English. 

"What  will  you  charge  to  take  us  across  and  back?" 
asked  David,  presently. 

In  the  native  gutturals  Tom  consulted  the  old  Indian, 
and  then  answered,  "  Fifty  cents  apiece." 

This  being  a  reasonable  price,  as  prices  run  in  that 
country,  the  bargain  was  closed.  As  the  boys  were  with 
out  rubber  boots  and  several  small  channels  separated 
them  from  the  canoes  on  the  main  stream,  the  Indians 
readily  agreed  to  carry  them  on  their  backs  to  the  point 
of  embarkation. 

Once  in  the  village,  David  and  Holy  looked  about 
them  with  interest.  Most  of  the  houses  had  been  erected 
by  the  Russians  and  straggled  in  an  irregular  line  along 
a  narrow  foot-path,  facing  the  river.  Tom  Williams  with 
his  wife  and  family  occupied  one  of  the  neatest  of  these 
dwellings,  and  his  name  appeared  prominently  painted 
near  the  door.  Children  and  dogs  swarmed  everywhere. 

"  There  's  your  African  dodger,  Roly,"  said  David,  as 
they  approached  the  curious  totem  figure  which  had 
attracted  their  attention  in  March.  "We  must  have  a 
picture  of  that."  The  next  instant  the  click  of  the 
shutter  in  the  camera  announced  that  the  prize  was 
secure. 

A  little  farther  on,  an  Indian  whose  black  hair  was 
sprinkled  with  gray  was  sitting  on  his  doorstep.  As 


SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN  333 

they  approached,  he  beckoned  and  made  signs  that  they 
might  enter  the  house,  —  an  invitation  which  they  gladly 
accepted,  since  they  were  curious  to  see  something  of 
the  home  life  of  these  natives  upon  whom  civilization 
had  thrust  at  least  its  outward  form. 

The  large  living-room  into  which  they  were  ushered 
had  a  bare  wooden  floor  and  contained  several  chairs,  a 
good  stove,  a  chest  of  drawers,  and  a  table  at  which  two 
women,  dressed  in  gingham,  were  sewing.  One  was 
evidently  the  wife  of  the  host,  and  the  other,  a  plump  girl 
of  about  fourteen,  his  daughter.  They  looked  up  as  the 
boys  entered,  but  said  nothing,  and  indeed  no  member 
of  the  family  seemed  able  to  talk  much  English. 

Ancient  chromos  of  various  subjects  hung  upon  the 
walls,  and  David  discovered  a  curious  brass  plate,  about 
four  inches  square,  bearing  a  figure  of  Saint  Peter  in 
relief  with  a  large  halo  around  his  head.  This  would  be 
an  excellent  memento  of  Klukwan,  he  thought,  so  turning 
to  the  Indian  and  pointing  to  Saint  Peter  he  asked, 
"How  much?" 

The  Indian  understood  this  simple  phrase,  consulted 
his  wife  and  daughter,  and  answered,  "Four  dollars." 

This  was  more  than  David  cared  to  pay ;  and  as  the 
owners  did  not  seem  very  desirous  of  parting  with  their 
patron  saint,  he  pressed  the  matter  no  further. 

The  incident  appeared  to  remind  the  Indian  that  he 
had  another  interesting  treasure.  Going  to  the  chest 


334     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

of  drawers,  he  took  out  a  large,  time-stained  document 
and  spread  it  before  them.  It  was  printed  in  Russian, 
but  David  easily  made  out  that  it  was  a  certificate  of 
their  host's  membership  in  the  Greek  Church,  —  the 
national  Church  of  Russia.  It  contained  his  name, 
which  was  utterly  unpronounceable,  and  at  the  bottom 
appeared  the  signature  of  the  Bishop  at  Sitka. 

Only  a  brief  call  was  made  at  the  house  of  this  kindly 
disposed  man,  for  it  was  impossible  to  carry  on  any 
conversation.  Continuing  their  walk,  they  came  upon  a 
group  of  young  fellows  seated  on  the  ground  around  a 
checker-board  and  very  much  engrossed  in  that  diver 
sion,  while  just  beyond  was  a  similar  group  playing 
some  card  game  which  they  had  learned  from  the  white 
men. 

Near  the  end  of  the  village  the  boys  found  several  old 
iron  cannon  lying  on  the  ground  near  the  path.  Evi 
dently  they  had  once  been  mounted  there  by  the  Russians 
for  defence  against  the  Chilkats.  Stirring  scenes  no  doubt 
these  old  pieces  had  witnessed,  but  however  loudly  they 
had  spoken  in  times  past,  they  were  now  mute,  telling 
no  tale  of  pioneer  and  savage,  of  stealthy  attack  and 
sturdy  defence. 

While  they  examined  the  cannon,  a  large  sailing  canoe 
had  been  slowly  coming  up  the  river  against  the  strong 
current,  and  now  made  a  landing  near  them.  The  oc 
cupants,  men,  women,  and  children,  came  up  into  the 


SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN  335 

village,  bearing  cans  full  of  berries,  which  seemed  to 
constitute  the  cargo. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  sight  of  the  berries,  which  looked 
like  New  England  huckleberries,  or  possibly  it  was  the 
display  of  loaves  of  bread  in  a  window,  which  aroused  a 
sudden  appetite  in  the  boys,  and  they  made  inquiries  by 
signs  where  they  could  obtain  something  to  eat.  Being 
directed  to  a  neighboring  house,  they  knocked  on  the  door, 
made  known  their  wants,  and  were  ushered  by  a  tall,  bony 
native  into  the  kitchen,  where  they  were  given  seats  at 
a  table. 

A  fat  Indian  woman  whom  they  took  to  be  the  tall 
man's  wife  set  a  tea-pot  on  the  stove  and  brought  out 
some  old  blue  crockery,  —  the  first  they  had  seen  in  many 
months.  All  the  while  these  preparations  were  making, 
a  young  man  was  sitting  on  the  floor  near  the  stove  with 
his  back  against  the  wall  and  his  hat  down  over  his  eyes, 
a  picture  of  unambitious  indifference.  Whether  he  was 
a  visitor  or  a  member  of  the  family,  an  invalid  or  only 
lazy,  the  boys  could  not  determine. 

The  tall  man  and  his  round  spouse  now  set  forth  the 
supper.  There  was  real  yeast  bread  which  had  a  wonder 
fully  pleasant  home-like  taste,  there  was  prune  pie,  and 
cake,  and  tea  with  sugar  and  condensed  milk,  and  canned 
butter  for  the  bread.  For  this  meal,  which  they  thoroughly 
enjoyed  and  for  which  they  would  willingly  have  paid  a 
larger  sum,  they  were  charged  but  twenty-five  cents  apiece. 


336     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

It  was  now  time  to  think  of  returning  to  camp,  and, 
having  hunted  up  Tom  Williams  and  his  companion,  they 
were  soon  across  the  river,  accompanied  by  a  third  native, 
who  paddled  over  apparently  out  of  curiosity  and  con 
tinued  with  them  across  the  small  channels.  David  and 
the  old  Indian  were  now  considerably  in  advance  of  Roly 
and  Tom,  but  when  Roly  had  been  carried  over  what  he 
thought  was  the  last  channel,  he  paid  Tom  fifty  cents,  as 
he  had  agreed.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so  than  he  beheld 
David  "being  carried  over  another  some  distance  in 
advance. 

Tom  was  a  Christian  Indian,  but  he  was  no  more 
averse  to  getting  the  best  of  a  bargain  than  some  Christian 
Yankees.  He  saw  his  advantage  instantly  and  made  a 
motion  as  if  to  return  to  his  canoe.  Roly  scented  trouble, 
but  not  having  a  mind  to  take  a  wetting  when  he  had 
come  so  far  dry-shod  and  paid  for  that  comfort,  he  called 
Tom's  attention  to  the  channel  ahead. 

"  Two  bits,"  said  Tom. 

Now  if  there  was  anything  the  good-natured  Roly  hated, 
it  was  to  wrangle  over  a  paltry  matter  like  that.  He 
knew  quite  well  that  Tom  was  consciously  taking  ad 
vantage  of  the  situation,  but  he  preferred  to  act  as  if  the 
Indian  might  really  have  misunderstood  the  original  terms. 
He  rather  liked  Tom  on  the  whole,  and  even  felt  some 
thing  like  admiration  of  his  shrewdness  and  unblushing 
nerve.  Besides,  he  would  never  see  him  again,  nor  have 


SUNDAY  IN  KLUKWAN  337 

any  more  dealings  with  him.  The  result  was  that  Holy 
paid  the  twenty-five  cents  without  so  much  as  raising  a 
question.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the  coin  changed 
hands  than  the  other  Indian,  who  had  been  watching  the 
course  of  events  with  simulated  indifference,  broke  into 
a  loud,  triumphant  laugh,  —  a  laugh  which  grated  harshly 
on  Roly's  ears,  for  it  showed  him  that  neither  Indian  had 
really  expected  success  in  so  flagrant  an  extortion,  and 
that  instead  of  regarding  him  as  a  generous  friend  they 
doubtless  thought  him  an  easy  victim.  He  heartily 
wished  then  that  he  had  stood  firmly  for  the  agreement, 
or,  failing  to  secure  his  rights,  had  taken  the  wetting. 

The  question  of  his  proper  course  in  the  emergency  was 
discussed  pro  and  con  around  the  camp-fire  that  evening, 
for  Roly  frankly  told  the  story.  There  was  very  little 
pro  and  a  great  deal  of  con  in  the  comments.  The 
packers,  who,  on  general  principles,  wasted  no  love  on 
the  Indians,  were  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  Roly 
should  have  gone  through  fire  as  well  as  water,  rather 
than  pay  one  extra  penny.  David  was  guarded  in  his 
opinion,  since  he  had  narrowly  escaped  falling  into  a 
similar  trap.  On  the  whole,  however,  he  agreed  with 
the  packers.  Mr.  Bradford,  whose  sense  of  parental 
responsibility  was  aroused,  emphatically  declared  that  his 
son  should  have  held  strictly  by  the  agreement.  It  would 
make  the  Indians  tricky  and  overbearing,  he  said,  if  they 
thought  they  could  outwit  the  whites  so  easily.  Roly 

22 


338     GOLD-SEEKING  ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

should  have  maintained  his  rights.  As  for  Uncle  Will, 
he  seemed  highly  amused  by  the  affair,  but  offered  no 
views  on  the  subject. 

Poor  Holy,  seeing  the  weight  of  argument  so  heavily 
against  him,  cast  about  desperately  for  some  ground  of 
justification,  and  fell  back  at  last  upon  the  Scriptures. 

"  Does  n't  the  Bible  say,"  he  asked,  " '  If  any  man 
will  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloke  also '  ?  " 

This  defence  hugely  delighted  Uncle  Will.  "There, 
Charles,"  said  he,  "you're  answered  now." 

Mr.  Bradford  laughed.  "Well,"  he  responded,  "I'll 
not  only  consider  myself  well  answered,  but  I  '11  give 
Roly  a  gold  watch  and  chain  if  he  thought  of  that  verse 
when  he  paid  that  quarter." 

Honest  Roly  sighed.  "No,"  he  said,  "I  didn't  think 
of  it  until  this  minute." 


THE   ROBBERS  AT  LAST  339 


CHAPTER  XLI 

THE  EOBBBES  AT  LAST 

BUD  announced  next  morning   that  if  two  of  the 
Bradfords  would  like  to  ride  that  day  and  were 
willing  to  help  Phil  with  the  pack  train,  he  and 
Joyce  would  go  down  the  river  by  canoe,  as  he  had  a 
mind  to  examine  a  likely  ledge  of  rock  on  the  other  side 
of  the  stream.     He  had  noticed  its  appearance,  he  said, 
from  the  trail  on  his   journey  in,  and  thought  it  might 
contain  gold-bearing  quartz. 

This  proposition  was  very  welcome  to  the  trampers, 
and  they  immediately  drew  lots,  fortune  favoring  Mr. 
Bradford  and  Roly.  Uncle  Will  and  David  accordingly 
set  off  on  foot  directly  after  breakfast,  while  Bud  and 
Joyce  departed  toward  Klukwan,  and  the  other  three 
went  into  the  woods  to  find  the  horses,  —  a  task  which 
proved  both  long  and  tedious.  Roly,  who  had  taken  an 
easterly  direction,  came  out  upon  the  open  gravel,  where 
he  found  plenty  of  hoofprints,  but  no  horses.  He  looked 
carefully  over  the  whole  broad  expanse  and  listened  for 
the  tinkle  of  the  bell,  but  in  vain,  so  he  turned  back  into 
the  woods  toward  the  trail,  encountering  swamps  and 
thickets  which  greatly  impeded  his  progress.  Mr.  Brad- 


340     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE  DALTON   TRAIL 

ford  had  no  better  luck,  returning  tired  and  alone.  Phil, 
with  a  born  packer's  instinct,  finally  discovered  the 
animals  in  a  swamp  in  the  densest  part  of  the  forest,  and 
soon  afterward  brought  them  into  camp. 

Mr.  Bradford  and  Roly,  it  must  be  confessed,  were  of 
nearly  as  little  assistance  in  loading  as  they  had  been  in 
rounding  up.  They  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  the 
diamond  hitch,  which  every  up-to-date  packer  uses,  and 
Phil  would  tolerate  no  other. 

"  You  just  bring  up  the  horses  and  packs  sep'rate,"  said 
the  latter,  good-naturedly,  "  and  I  '11  put  'em  together." 

So  one  by  one  the  horses  were  led  up.  The  blankets 
and  pack  saddle  were  first  placed  in  position,  and  the 
canvas  band  under  the  breast  tightened  until  the  animal 
fairly  grunted.  Then  the  packs  were  set  in  place  on  each 
side  of  the  saddle  and  secured  by  many  windings  of  the 
cinch-rope,  all  being  finally  made  fast  by  the  famous 
hitch,  tightened  by  the  united  efforts  of  Phil  and  Mr. 
Bradford. 

"  There ! "  exclaimed  Phil  when  the  work  was  done, 
"now  they'll  pass  muster. 

"  They  may  buck,  they  may  roll,  they  may  rub  agin  a  tree, 
But  their  loads  will  stick  like  —  " 

"  Like  your  poet-ree,"  Roly  suggested,  after  a  pause. 
"  Haw  !    haw !  "    laughed   the  big   Missourian.     "  Yes, 
that's   it.     I  was  going  to  say,  'like  a  bad  reputation,' 


THE   ROBBERS   AT   LAST  341 

but  that  wouldn't  rhyme.  No  matter  how  well  I  get 
started,  I  'm  always  floored  by  the  second  line." 

The  pack  train  was  now  put  in  motion,  Phil  directing 
his  companions  to  ride  in  the  rear  and  keep  the  animals 
from  lagging.  Their  way  lay  through  a  wild,  mountain 
ous  region.  There  were  ascents  and  descents  so  steep 
that  the  riders  were  forced  to  dismount  and  lead  their 
horses  with  the  utmost  caution,  but  wherever  the  nature 
of  the  trail  permitted,  the  animals  were  urged  to  a 
gallop. 

Roly  and  his  father  found  it  no  easy  matter  to  do 
rear-guard  duty.  There  was  a  speckled  horse  called 
"  Pinto "  who  made  it  his  especial  care  to  keep  them 
busy.  He  had  started  in  the  van  of  the  train,  but, 
being  a  confirmed  shirk,  had  gradually  fallen  back  un 
til  there  remained  only  a  meek  little  white  horse  be 
tween  him  and  the  hindmost  riders.  Having  gained 
this  position,  he  dropped  into  a  walk  at  every  oppor 
tunity  and  was  soon  far  behind  the  other  horses,  all 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  amateur  drivers  to  reach  him 
with  a  switch  or  strap  being  futile.  No  sooner  did 
he  see  them  spurring  up  than  he  would  jump  ahead 
just  out  of  reach,  while  the  punishment  intended  for 
him  —  the  clever  rogue  —  fell  upon  the  poor  little 
white  horse,  whom  he  would  not  allow  to  pass  him  on 
the  narrow  trail.  At  the  first  wide  clearing,  however, 
Pinto  got  what  he  deserved,  and,  being  thoroughly 


342     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

convinced  that  his  new  masters  would  have  no  trifling, 
he  was  as  well  behaved  for  the  rest  of  the  day  as  could 
be  desired. 

Now  let  us  follow  the  fortunes  of  Uncle  Will  and 
David. 

While  the  horses  were  being  rounded  up  and  loaded, 
the  two  pedestrians  had  obtained  a  good  lead,  walking 
as  rapidly  as  the  nature  of  the  ground  permitted,  and 
pausing  only  to  drink  at  a  sparkling  brook  or  to  admire 
for  a  moment  some  scene  of  unusual  beauty.  They 
had  covered  several  miles,  and  were  ascending  a  wooded 
slope  on  the  other  side  of  which  lay  a  deep  and  narrow 
ravine,  when  D,avid  broke  a  shoe-string  and  stopped  to 
tie  the  ends,  his  uncle  continuing  over  the  crest  and 
into  the  hollow  beyond. 

A  moment  later,  hurrying  to  catch  up,  David  also 
mounted  the  slope,  and  had  almost  reached  the  top 
when  a  gleam  of  light  caught  his  eye,  coming  from  the 
opposite  edge  of  the  ravine  and  a  little  to  the  right. 
Looking  there  to  discover  the  cause,  he  halted  abruptly. 
The  sun  had  glinted  on  the  barrel  of  a  rifle  in  the 
hands  of  a  man  who,  at  that  moment  crouched  beside 
a  large  rock,  was  facing  away  from  him  and  motioning 
to  some  one  in  the  woods  beyond.  The  stranger  wore 
fringed  buckskin  breeches  and  a  red  flannel  shirt,  and 
his  broad-brimmed  felt  hat  lay  on  the  ground  beside 
him. 


THE   ROBBERS   AT   LAST  343 

There  was  something  in  the  appearance  and  stealthy 
movements  of  this  man  which  at  once  aroused  David's 
suspicions.  Instinctively  he  threw  himself  flat  on  the 
ground  behind  a  young  spruce  which  grew  on  the  top 
of  the  bank,  at  the  same  time  unslinging  his  rifle  and 
laying  it  beside  him.  As  he  did  so,  he  watched  the 
gaudy  stranger  intently  through  the  branches  of  the  tree 
and  tried  to  recall  the  description  of  the  men  who  were 
suspected  of  robbing  Dalton's  Post.  With  every  detail 
which  he  could  remember,  this  man  tallied  exactly. 

He  glanced  also  to  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  where 
he  was  amazed  to  see  his  uncle  bending  over  what 
seemed  to  be  a  man's  lifeless  body.  Startled  and  won 
dering,  David  dared  not  long  avert  his  eyes  from  the 
opposite  bank. 

The  stranger  had  turned,  and  now,  kneeling  behind 
the  rock,  raised  his  rifle  to  the  shoulder,  pointing  it  at 
the  stooping  figure  of  Uncle  Will,  who  was  all  uncon 
scious  of  his  peril.  He  did  this,  however,  with  cool 
deliberation,  since  he  had  no  idea  he  was  watched. 

There  could  no  longer  be  the  slightest  doubt  that 
murder  had  been  done  here,  and  that  in  another  instant 
Uncle  Will  would  be  lying  beside  the  first  victim. 
David  no  sooner  perceived  the  outlaw's  cowardly  in 
tent  than  he  aimed  at  the  red  shirt,  and  fired.  At 
almost  the  same  instant  the  other  rifle  was  discharged, 
but  its  aim  was  spoiled.  David  had  fired  just  in  time. 


344     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

Jumping  to  his  feet  with  an  involuntary  yell,  the 
lad  saw  the  robber's  rifle  fall  to  the  ground  and  the 
man  sink  backward.  His  confederate,  hitherto  unseen, 
immediately  rushed  forward,  caught  him,  and  dragged 
him  back  out  of  sight  before  David  had  collected  him 
self  sufficiently  to  fire  again.  Meantime  Uncle  Will, 
in  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  startled  by  the  sudden  re 
ports  on  each  side  of  him,  drew  his  revolver  instantly, 
wondering  how  it  happened  that  he  could  have  been 
fired  upon  so  closely  without  being  even  scratched. 
With  the  resolute  look  of  a  brave  man  at  bay,  he 
turned  first  toward  one  bank,  then  toward  the  other, 
not  knowing  how  many  his  enemies  were  nor  where 
they  lurked.  He  caught  only  a  glimpse  of  the  robbers, 
but  he  saw  David  plainly  enough  as  he  shouted  and 
leaped  to  his  feet,  smoking  rifle  in  hand.  The  next 
moment  Uncle  Will  was  at  his  side. 

"  Shall  we  follow  them  ?  "    cried  David,  excitedly. 

44  How  many  were  there  ?  " 

"  Only  two,  and  I  hit  one." 

But  now  they  heard  galloping  hoofs,  and  conjectured 
that  the  uninjured  man  had  lifted  his  wounded  com 
panion  upon  a  horse  and  was  hurrying  him  away  to 
avoid  capture. 

"The  birds  have  flown,"  said  Uncle  Will.  Then 
with  a  quick  impulse  he  added,  "  David,  you  have 
saved  my  life.  Thanks  seem  very  small  at  such  a  time, 


THE   ROBBERS   AT  LAST  345 

yet  I  must  thank  you  with  all  my  heart  for  a  most 
prompt  and  courageous  act.  Give  me  your  hand." 
And  the  two  understood  each  other  better  by  that 
silent,  hearty  hand-clasp  than  they  could  have  done 
with  any  number  of  words. 

They  now  crossed  to  the  other  bank,  where  David 
picked  up  the  rifle  as  a  prize  of  war,  and  the  hat  as  an 
additional  means  of  identifying  the  robber.  Blood- 
spots  showed  that  the  wounded  man  had  been  dragged 
through  the  woods  a  distance  of  several  hundred  feet 
to  the  trail,  where  fresh  hoof-marks  confirmed  the 
flight. 

"  Did  you  recognize  that  man  in  the  ravine  ?  "  asked 
Uncle  Will  as  they  returned. 

"No,"  answered  David.     "Do  I  know  him?" 

"It's  Ike  Martin, 'Dal ton's  storekeeper." 

"  Ike  Martin !  "  exclaimed  David,  in  an  awe-struck 
voice.  "  Is  he  dead  ?  " 

"Yes,  with  a  bullet  through  his  brain." 

It  was  true.  They  examined  the  body,  and  found 
that  poor  Ike  must  have  been  instantly  killed.  His 
money,  watch,  and  revolver  were  missing.  It  was  prob 
able  that  the  crime  had  been  but  just  committed,  the 
murderers  not  having  had  time  to  hide  the  body.  In 
deed,  they  both  remembered  hearing  a  distant  shot. 

Somewhat  shaken  in  nerve,  the  two  sat  down 
to  await  the  pack  train.  Upon  its  arrival  a  half -hour 


346     GOLD-SEEKING  ON  THE  DALTON  TRAIL 

later,  Mr.  Bradford,  Roly,  and  Phil  were  quickly  made 
acquainted  with  the  events  we  have  narrated,  and  it 
was  decided  to  carry  the  body  of  the  storekeeper  to 
Dalton's  toll-tent  a  few  miles  beyond. 

The  two  toll-gatherers  had  seen  nothing  of  the  rob 
bers,  who  had  doubtless  taken  refuge  in  some  mountain 
fastness  away  from  the  trail.  They  were  not  a  little 
alarmed  to  learn  that  they  had  such  dangerous  neigh 
bors,  and  declared  that  but  for  David's  wounding  one 
of  them,  the  toll-tent  would  almost  certainly  have  been 
their  next  object  of  attack.  As  it  was,  there  would  be 
time  to  send  the  toll-money  to  Pyramid  Harbor  and 
take  all  proper  precautions.  They  promised  to  see 
that  Martin's  body  received  decent  burial. 

By  nightfall  the  pack  train  had  clattered  down  from 
the  mountain  trail  to  the  upper  tide-flats,  where  camp 
was  pitched  within  eight  miles  of  the  harbor.  With 
his  usual  predilection  for  fruit,  Phil  went  off  and 
picked  a  quart  of  marsh-berries.  They  were  of  a  yel 
lowish-pink  color,  and  contained  a  large  pit  which 
made  the  eating  of  them  awkward,  but  when  boiled 
with  sugar  they  produced  a  sauce  of  very  agreeable 
flavor. 

Bud  and  Joyce  had  already  arrived  at  the  rendezvous. 
They  had  but  little  to  say  about  the  ledge,  and  the 
Bradfords  could  not  make  up  their  minds  whether  they 
had  been  disappointed,  or  had  found  good  prospects  and 


THE   ROBBERS  AT   LAST  347 

wished  to  keep  the  matter  quiet,  though  the  former 
supposition  seemed  the  more  probable.  The  canoeists 
had  heard  the  rifle-shots,  and  the  story  of  the  adven 
ture  on  the  trail  was  related  again  for  their  benefit 
and  discussed  around  the  fire  until  late  in  the  evening, 
David  coming  in  for  enough  praise  to  have  turned  the 
head  of  a  less  sensible  youth.  All  had  a  good  word 
for  poor  Ike,  too,  for  there  was  not  one  present  for 
whom  he  had  not  done  a  good  turn.  Bancroft  Ubmry 


348     GOLD-SEEKING   ON  THE   DALTON   TRAIL 


CHAPTER  XLII 

PYRAMID,   SEAGWAY,   AND  DYE  A.  —  CONCLUSION 

IN  the  morning,  when  the  tide  was  out,  the  trav 
ellers  crossed  the  long,  level,  sandy  waste  and 
rounded  the  northern  point  of  the  harbor.  There 
lay  the  settlement  on  the  farther  shore  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountains,  but  how  changed!  Where  the  Brad- 
fords  had  pitched  their  first  camp  in  March  there  was 
now  an  enormous  tent  with  the  word  "Hotel"  in  large 
black  letters  on  its  roof,  while  just  beyond  stood  a  com 
modious  frame  structure  which,  upon  closer  scrutiny, 
proved  to  be  a  stable  for  Dalton's  pack  horses.  The 
cannery  was  now  in  full  blast,  and  the  tall  iron  stacks 
belched  forth  columns  of  black  smoke.  A  full-rigged 
ship  lay  at  anchor  in  the  bay.  Beyond  the  Indian  vil 
lage  stretched  a  row  of  frame  buildings  interspersed  with 
tents,  containing,  as  they  soon  discovered,  a  grocery,  a 
storehouse,  a  post-office  and  store  for  general  merchan 
dise,  and  a  saloon.  The  latter  was  already  demoralizing 
the  Indians,  who  in  their  cups  had  more  than  once 
threatened  to  exterminate  the  whole  white  population. 

Thus,   like   a  mushroom,   had    sprung    into   existence 
the  nucleus  of  the  future  city  of  Pyramid,  —  for  even 


PYRAMID,   SKAGWAY,  D  YEA.  —  CONCLUSION     349 

the  name   had   undergone  a  change,  growing   shorter   as 
the  town  grew  longer. 

At  the  cannery  scores  of  Chinese  laborers,  brought 
from  San  Francisco  and  other  coast  cities,  were  busily 
cutting  up  and  packing  the  salmon,  which  were  collected 
by  the  thousand  from  the  Indian  villages  of  the  neighbor 
hood  by  the  company's  steamer. 

A  few  days  later  the  "Farallon"  entered  the  harbor 
on  her  way  north,  and  the  Bradfords  embarked,  glad 
of  the  opportunity  of  seeing  Skagway  and  Dyea,  then 
only  two  years  old,  both  of  which  were  wonderful  ex 
amples  of  American  push  and  enterprise. 

Skagway  owed  its  size  and  importance  largely  to  the 
fact  that  the  White  Pass  trail,  at  the  entrance  to  which 
it  lay,  had  been  completely  blocked  by  the  rush  of 
Klondikers,  who,  with  pack  animals  and  hundreds  of 
tons  of  supplies,  had  crowded  upon  it  in  the  previous 
year  without  any  knowledge  of  its  difficulties.  Balked 
in  their  purpose  of  taking  up  claims  in  the  gold-fields, 
a  great  number  of  these  people  returned  and  staked  out 
town  lots  instead,  and  built  log  cabins  upon  their  claims. 
Then  enterprising  merchants  of  Seattle  and  Tacoma,  hear 
ing  of  Skagway's  sudden  boom,  erected  wooden  store 
houses  and  business  buildings,  and  sent  up  complete 
stocks  of  merchandise  of  every  description.  Saloons, 
dance-halls,  and  theatres  sprang  up  as  by  magic.  Toughs 
and  gamblers  poured  in,  and  United  States  troops  were 


350     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON  TRAIL 

quartered  there  to  keep  the  peace.  So  the  town  grew, 
and  mainly  for  the  reason  that  the  original  settlers 
could  not  get  out  of  it.  Finally,  as  if  to  hold  their 
own  against  Dyea,  whose  Chilkoot  trail,  though  rough, 
had  remained  all  the  while  open,  the  Skagwayans  pro 
jected  and  immediately  commenced  a  railroad  which 
should  make  their  town,  after  all,  the  gateway  to  the 
Klondike. 

Skagway  was  almost  deserted  when  the  Bradfords  ar 
rived,  for  gold  had  been  discovered  in  the  Atlin  region, 
distant  only  a  few  days'  journey,  and  a  stampede  had 
taken  place.  They  walked  through  the  gravelly  busi 
ness  streets  and  out  into  the  suburbs,  where  log  cabins 
alternated  with  tents.  Several  streets,  already  lined  with 
buildings,  were  thickly  studded  with  stumps  which  the 
citizens  had  not  yet  found  time  to  remove.  Mr.  Brad 
ford  bought  a  copy  of  the  Skagway  newspaper,  in  which 
he  presently  discovered  among  the  advertisements  an  an 
nouncement  that  the  Misses would  give  piano  lessons 

at  reasonable  prices. 

"  Look  at  that ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  Piano  lessons  in 
a  place  where  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago  there  was 
nothing  but  a  saw-mill  and  a  few  dirty  Indians." 

"Yes,"  said  Uncle  Will,  "you  can  get  anything  here 
now  from  a  first-class  shave  to  a  parlor  stove.  Just 
look  in  at  that  fruit-store  window,  —  peaches  and  apples 
and  plums,  and  even  roasted  peanuts !  We  're  in  civil- 


PYRAMID,   SKAGWAY,  DYEA.  —  CONCLUSION    351 

ization  again,  sure  enough.  Why,  I  even  noticed  a 
bicycle  on  the  wharf!" 

Dyea,  which  they  visited  next  day,  was  similar  in 
most  respects  to  its  sister  town.  It,  too,  lay  in  a  narrow 
valley  between  rugged  mountains  at  the  head  of  a  deep 
inlet.  Its  wharf  had  not  been  completed  to  the  high- 
tide  line,  which,  owing  to  the  flatness  of  the  ground, 
was  half  a  mile  or  more  inland.  The  town  itself  was 
about  a  mile  back  from  the  landing. 

"We  shall  have  to  make  a  flying  visit  or  the  tide 
will  cut  us  off,"  observed  Mr.  Bradford,  as  they  left  the 
steamer.  "It  has  turned  already." 

The  sight-seers  accordingly  made  all  haste,  and,  hav 
ing  tramped  through  the  sandy  streets,  taken  a  few 
pictures,  and  found  the  town  to  be  somewhat  smaller 
than  Skagway,  they  retraced  their  steps  and  none  too 
soon.  The  water  was  already  flowing  around  the  un 
completed  end  of  the  wharf,  but  they  jumped  the  rapidly 
widening  stream.  A  young  woman,  a  fellow-passenger 
on  the  "Farallon,"  arrived  soon  after.  She  was  obliged 
to  wade  through,  but  escaped  a  serious  wetting  by  walk 
ing  on  her  heels.  Ten  minutes  later  the  water-line  was 
far  up  toward  the  town. 

Of  the  voyage  to  Seattle,  where  they  learned  that 
Spain  had  sued  for  peace ;  of  how  David  delighted  Flora 
Kingsley  with  one  of  the  cub  bear-skins,  reserving  the 
large  one  for  his  mother  and  the  other  for  Helen;  of 


352     GOLD-SEEKING   ON   THE   DALTON   TRAIL 

the  homeward  journey  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  City,  where 
the  boys  and  their  elders  —  for  Uncle  Will  accompanied 
them  —  saw  the  old  Mormon  tabernacle  and  the  great 
new  temple,  and  floated  like  corks  in  the  buoyant  brine 
of  the  lake,  —  space  forbids  an  account. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  all  four,  bronzed  and  healthy 
and  happy,  alighted  from  the  train  at  their  home  city 
one  beautiful  afternoon  in  September,  and  were  received 
with  open  arms  and  great  rejoicing  by  Mrs.  Bradford 
and  Helen,  who  declared  that  they  were  bountifully 
rewarded  for  all  their  anxiety  and  loneliness  by  seeing 
their  dear  ones  come  back  so  strong  and  well. 

"It  has  been  a  wonderful  and  profitable  journey," 
said  Mr.  Bradford  that  evening,  "in  more  ways  than 
one.  We  are  not  millionaires,  but  we  have  gained  in 
health  and  stored  our  memories  with  treasures." 

"Yes,"  put  in  Uncle  Will,  "and  we've  turned  out 
two  as  fine  lads  as  there  are  in  the  country.  If  there 
comes  another  war,  here  are  soldiers  ready-made." 

"  Soldierly  qualities,"  said  Mrs.  Bradford,  with  a  pleased 
look  in  her  eyes,  "are  useful  also  in  peace." 


THE  END 


